Stereotyp boorgedrag van Natica

A short review of part of the extensive literature on boring naticid gastropods is presented. Boreholes of carnivorous gastropods such as Murex and Natica are of particular interest for the palaeontologist because they present a rare opportunity to study predation in fossil populations and the co-evolution of prey and predators. Boring by Natica is stereotype (holes in shells of one prey are not random but localized) because the prey is held firmly with the foot in one and the same position during the boring act, which may last from 5 to 100 hours depending on shell thickness. Different preys will be held differently and also differences exist between Natica species in prey handling. Future research could try to reveal differences in prey handling between the two recent species in the North Sea N. catena and N. alderi, of which the latter is studied already extensively in the laboratory by Ziegelmeier (1954).