Food Habits of the Gastropod Mitra litterata Lamarck: Relation to Trophic Structure of the Intertidal Marine Bench Community in Hawaii

Abstract

The stenoglossan gastropod Mitra litterata Lamarck, common on intertidal solution benches on Oahu, preys on sipunculids occurring in burrows in reef limestone. Phascolosoma scolops Selenka and DeMan is the main component of the diet. Phascolosoma sp. cf. P. heronis Edmonds and Aspidosiphon elegans Chamisso and Eysenhardt are also eaten. This is the first report of the nature of the food of a member of the family Mitridae. Mitra litterata belongs to a distinct trophic subweb from other co-occurring predatory gastropods of similar size and population density-Morula granulata (Duclos), which preys mainly on herbivorous gastropods, and Conus spp., which eat herbivorous polychaetes.