Scavenging behavior by Phyllonotus oculatus (Gastropoda: Muricidae) in a South Atlantic reef

Abstract

Scavengers play a key role in nutrient cycling and in the energy transfer between the terrestrial-aquatic interface (Beasley et al. 2012). Obligatory scavengers feed exclusively on carrion, while some predator species act opportunistically as facultative scavengers when carrion is available (Morton 2006; Moleón and Sánchez-Zapata 2015). Species of the gastropod family Muricidae, such as Ergalatax contracta (Reeve, 1846), display the opportunistic habit of scavenging other predators’ leftovers on subtidal sands (Morton 2006). Muricidae is one of the largest families of carnivorous snails, utilizing a specialized shell-drilling ability to assess their prey (Dietl and Herbert 2005).