Cart-rut Shell
Dicathais orbita
It secretes a defense chemical that reacts with oxygen and sunlight to turn into a vibrant, permanent purple dye.
- Scientific name
- Dicathais orbita
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Mollusca › Gastropoda › Neogastropoda › Muricidae › Dicathais
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- aquatic
- Habitat
- Rocky intertidal reefs and wave-swept rock platforms.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; feeds on barnacles, mussels, and other gastropods by drilling holes in their shells.
- Range
- Southern Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania
- Size
- Up to 8 cm in shell length
- Lifespan
- 5-10 years
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Ocean acidification, coastal development, and illegal harvesting.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless to humans. Observe this snail in tide pools without removing it from its rock, as pulling it off can damage its muscular foot. If skin contact occurs with its defensive secretions (which can dye skin purple), wash with warm soapy water.
Dicathais is a genus of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, the rock snails. This genus is monotypic; the only species in it is Dicathais orbita , common name the white rock shell or cart-rut shell , found round the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.
Photo: Terra Occ, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
Plain-text version: /species/6097fcd7-c7fa-4842-ad0d-8e800ae4c94c.md