Melo miltonis

Southern bailer
Melo miltonis
Melo miltonis, Fremantle, WA, Photo: Tom Davis
Melo miltonis
Melo miltonis, Jurien bay, WA, Photo: Antonia Cooper
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Melo miltonis
Melo miltonis

Same Genus

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 Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (7.9% 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