Melo miltonis, Jurien bay, WA, Photo: Antonia Cooper
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
It is one of a group of volutes known as bailer shells because of their value to indigenous people for holding water. Like other bailer shells, M. miltonis remains concealed under sand for much of the time and moves about searching for molluscs at night and on overcast days.
Information
Max Size: 45 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 17.7-23.5°C
Depth: 0-100m
Habitat: Rocky Reef, Seagrass, Soft sediment
Rarity
IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
Occurrence: Infrequent (8% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution.
It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney
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