# Cart-rut Shell

*Dicathais orbita*

It secretes a defense chemical that reacts with oxygen and sunlight to turn into a vibrant, permanent purple dye.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/6097fcd7-c7fa-4842-ad0d-8e800ae4c94c
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/324573
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicathais orbita
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/35708199/medium.jpg (Terra Occ, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.