The Terebridae, commonly referred to as auger shells or auger snails, is a family of predatory marine gastropods in the superfamily Conoidea. They have extremely high-spired shells with numerous whorls; their common name refers to the resemblance of their shells to rock-drill bits. More than 400 species are recently known worldwide.

Taxonomy

This family consists of the following subfamilies (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005): In 2019 there was a comprehensive revision of the taxonomy of the Terebridae by Fedosov, A. E.; Malcolm, G.; Terryn, Y.; Gorson, J.; Modica, M. V.; Holford, M.; Puillandre, N. in the Journal of Molluscan Studies, including the definition of new genera and the redistribution of many species to other genera.

Shell description

The shells of the sea snails in this family are typically shaped like slender augers or screws. In that respect they share certain shell characters with the family Turritellidae, the turret shells. One characteristic that distinguishes Terebridae from Turritellidae is the short anterior canal or notch in the aperture of the shell. Terebridae shells also tend to have characteristically flattened versus convex whorls, and they often have one or two plaits on the columella. Numerous species in this family are grouped under the genera Terebra or Hastula, and a minority of species are placed in four other genera.

Life habits

These snails are sand-dwelling carnivores which live in warmer waters. In most species, a venomous barb similar to that of the cone snails, (see Conidae), is used to stun and immobilize prey, which typically consists of various marine worms.

Genera

Genera in the family Terebridae include: