Reproduction and larval development of the gastropod mollusk Tegula rustica in Peter the Great Bay, sea of Japan

The reproduction and larval development of the prosobranch gastropod mollusk Tegula rustica were studied under laboratory conditions. In Vostok Bay (Peter the Great Bay), the reproduction of the Tegula takes place in August, when the water temperature is 19-20°C. Under laboratory conditions, the spawning of females was stimulated by adding a sperm emulsion to a vessel containing adult females. We observed asynchronous and intermittent release of gametes. The egg cell is 190 μm in diameter. Fertilization is external, and the course of development includes a lecithotrophic pelagic larva. Complete development, from fertilization to metamorphosis, takes 7 days in a laboratory culture. The larvae settle when the shell size across the first whorl is 220-230 μm and the total shell whorl is about 90°. The shape of the veliger shell is elongated mitriform and the velum is rounded, made up of a single lobe. The sculpture of the protoconch is irregularly ribbed. Copyright © 2000 by Biologiya Morya. Kulikova. Omel'yanenko.