Snails of Algerie

Algerie Poste pleased to release a set of two stamps feature snails, Rumina decollata and Helix aspersa, on May 21, 2003.

Rumina decollata is a medium-sized predatory land snail, and feeds readily upon common garden snails and slugs and their eggs.

Rumina decollata, or  Decollate snail,   is  a species of terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Subulinidae. It is a European species that has been introduced in a number of areas worldwide.Decollate snails are tolerant of dry and cold conditions, during which they burrow deep into the soil. They are most active during the night and during rainfall.

Its shell  is long and roughly cone-shaped. Rumina decollata grows to approximately 40 mm in length, and upon reaching mature size, grinds or chips off the end of its own shell by moving its body roughly against hard surfaces, so that the shell takes on a decollate shape, tapering to a blunt end.

Seashells of Malaysia

In year 2008, Malay Post issued the stamp set features seashells of Malaysia that comprises of one souvenir sheet and 4 single postage stamps. The species of seashells have depicted are Venus comb murex (Murex pecten), Horned helmet (Cassis cornuta), Burnt murex (Chicoreus brunneus), Frog shell (Tutufa rubeta), and Triton’s trumpet (Charonia tritonis).

The Venus comb murex, or  Murex pecten, is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the rock snails or murex snails. The shell of this Indo-Pacific species has a very long siphonal canal, and numerous spines.

The shell has over one hundred spines, which provide protection from predation, and prevent the snail from sinking in the soft mud. 

Like many other murex snails, it feeds on other mollusks. The Venus comb murex is a common species, but perfect specimens of the shell are not easily found because of the fragility of the numerous long spines. The species grows to between 10 and 15 cm in length.