|
| |
Phylum
Mollusca
Class
Gastropoda
Family
Terebridae
Augers
|
Augers are related to
Cone shells and Turrids
that also possess a
harpoon-like radula and inject venom to capture prey, specifically worms. Their slender shells are designed for crawling along beneath the sand leaving a trail behind
them. A few prefer drifting up-and-down sloping beaches with the surf
while hunting, quickly burying between waves at the water's edge. As a
general rule, augers prefer fine, clean sand and tend to stay near the edge of
reefs rather than in the middle of nowhere. The greatest number of species
will be found at deeper scuba depths.
|
HAWAII
Terebra achates

Waimanalo, Oahu, 8 feet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAWAIIAN DARK-SPOTTED AUGER
|
Endemic to Hawaii.
Rare in shallow water. Whorls are concave between the sutures with pitted spirals.
Up to 5 inches. |

Terebra areolata
DARK-SPOTTED AUGER
|
Rare in shallow water.
Smooth with fine axial growth lines. Up to 5 inches. Hawaii
& the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra argus brachygyra

HAWAIIAN EYED AUGER
|
Endemic Hawaiian subspecies.
Uncommon in shallow water. Cream with beige spots, well-defined subsutural band.
Up to 3 inches. T. argus argus occurs throughout the
Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra guttata
 |
Sea Tiger, Oahu, 120 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SPOTTED AUGER
|
Uncommon at any depth.
Up to 6 inches. Hawaii & the Tropical Pacific. |

Terebra
(Acus) dimidiata
 |
Haleiwa Trench, Oahu, 80 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ORANGE AUGER
| Rare in shallow water.
Up to 6 inches. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Acus) crenulata
 |
Wailupe, Oahu, 12 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CRENULATED AUGER
|
Common in shallow water including coarse sandy pockets.
Variable, gray to flesh, crenulations light or heavy. Reaches 5 inches.
Hawaii, Indo-Pacific, Western Mexico. |

Terebra
(Acus) chlorata
PINK-SPOTTED AUGER
|
Uncommon in coarse sand on shallow reefs.
Up to 3 inches. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Acus) maculata
 |
Honokohau, Hawaii, 50 feet
|
Midway Lagoon, 30 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
MARLINSPIKE AUGER
|
Locally
common at any depth. Spire sometimes broken off.
Creates a large trail as it crawls along.
Attains nearly 12 inches.
Hawaii, Indo-Pacific, Western Mexico. |

Terebra
(Acus) felina
CAT AUGER
|
Common in coarse sand in shallow water.
Smooth with barely defined subsutural band. Cream, rarely with dark brown spots.
Reaches 3 inches but usually less. Hawaii & the
Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Acus) thaanumi
 |
Kewalo, Oahu, 90 feet |
Kewalo, Oahu, 90 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
THAANUM'S AUGER
|
Uncommon in
sand deeper than 80 feet. Whorls more inflated and ribs stronger
than T. gouldi. Reaches 4 inches. Endemic to Hawaii. |

Terebra
(Hastulopsis) amoena
|
Very rare at scuba depths.
Inflated whorls clouded with brown. Reaches 2 inches.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Hastulopsis) pertusa
PERFORATED AUGER
|
Rare at scuba depths.
Up to 2 inches. Slender with flat whorls clouded with
orange. India to Hawaii. |

Terebra
(Myurella) undulata
UNDULATED AUGER
|
Rare at scuba depths.
Slender, strong axial ribs, light subsutural nodules,
dark between ribs. Up to 2 inches. Hawaii & the
Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Myurella) nebulosa
 |
|
Makua, Oahu, 30 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
RED-CLOUD AUGER
|
Rare at scuba depths.
Semi-glossy with low ribs with punctate spirals between. Orange-brown clouded with white, darker between ribs.
Up to 2 inches. Difficult to separate from T. columellaris &
T. kilburni. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Myurella) kilburni
KILBURN'S AUGER
|
Rare in deep water.
Slender with fine ribs crossed by punctate spirals. Dull orange with white blotches.
Up to 2 inches. Difficult to separate from T. columellaris &
T. nebulosa. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Myurella) columellaris
COLUMNAR AUGER
|
Fairly common at any depth.
Glossy with curved ribs with punctate spirals between. Orange with white spirals.
Up to 2 inches. Difficult to separate from T. nebulosa & T.
kilburni. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Myurella) flavofasciata
YELLOW-BANDED AUGER
|
Uncommon at any depth.
Slender, cream with yellow spirals and scattered brown
spots on subsutural band. Up to 1.5 inches. Hawaii &
the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Myurella) affinis peasii
PEASE'S RELATED AUGER
|
Common at any depth.
Fine, flat ribs separated by deep punctures, white with
flesh-colored blotches. Up to 2 inches. Hawaii & the
Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Myurella) affinis
RELATED AUGER
|
Uncommon at any depth on the island of Hawaii.
Broad flat ribs separated by punctures, white with
flesh-colored blotches. About 1.5 inches. Hawaii,
Indo-Pacific, Sea of Cortez.. |

Terebra
(Perirhoe) cerithina
CERITH-LIKE
AUGER
|
Uncommon at any depth.
Slender form prefers deeper water than inflated form. Up to 1.5 inches.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Amanda-group) funiculata
CORDED AUGER
|
Fairly common at any depth.
Smooth cords vary in strength. Up to 2 inches. Hawaii
& the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Amanda-group) amanda
AMANDA'S AUGER
|
Fairly common at scuba depths.
Glossy orange with double row of white nodules. Up to 1.5 inches.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Amanda-group) babylonia
BABYLONIAN AUGER
|
Uncommon at any depth.
Dull with four flat spirals cut by curved axial grooves. Up to 3 inches.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Elata-group) nodularis 
NODULAR AUGER
|
Fairly common at any depth.
Cream with double row of nodules connected by slight
axial ribs. Up to 1.5 inches. Endemic to Hawaii. |

Terebra
(Duplicaria) gouldi

 |
|
Makua, Oahu, 25 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
GOULD'S AUGER
|
Endemic to Hawaii.
Common at any depth. Terebra (Acus) thaanumi has shorter whorls,
stronger ribs, and
occurs in deep water. Up to 4 inches. |

Hastula
(Impages) hectica
 |
Waimanalo, Oahu |
Waimanalo, Oahu |
|
|
|
|
|
HECTIC AUGER
|
Rare on surf-swept beaches.
Feeds at night in the shorebreak. Color variable. Up to 3 inches.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Hastula
(Impages) inconstans
 |
Makua, Oahu, 15 feet |
Makua, Oahu, 15 feet |
Makua, Oahu, 15 feet |
|
|
|
|
INCONSTANT AUGER
|
Rare on surf-swept beaches, more common at diving
depths. Flaring aperture, color variable. Up to 1.5 inches.
Uses foot to sail in the surge. Hawaii & Japan. |

Hastula
(Hastula) albula
WHITE-BANDED AUGER
|
Uncommon at any depth.
More delicate than H. inconstans with narrow
aperture, color variable. Up to 1.5 inches. H. mera is a
synonym. Hawaii, Indo-Pacific, and Western Mexico. |

Hastula
(Hastula) penicillata
 |
Sharks Cove, Oahu, 35 feet
|
Sharks Cove, Oahu, 35 feet
|
|
|
|
|
|
PENCIL-LINED AUGER
|
Common at any depth.
Whorls slightly inflated, irregular wavy lines, colors
variable. Up to 1.75 inches. Hawaii & the
Indo-Pacific. |
Hastula
(Hastula) lanceata
LANCE AUGER
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Whorls straight-sided, brown lines are uniform compared
to H. penicillata. Up to 2 inches. Hawaii & the
Indo-Pacific. |

Hastula
(Hastula) solida
SOLID AUGER
|
Rare in
Hawaii at depths greater than 300 feet. Less than 1 inch.
Hawaii, Tropical Pacific and Japan. |

Hastula
(Hastula) strigilata
PAINTED
AUGER
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Fine axial ribs may be obsolete or strong, color
yellow, olive, or brown. Columella entirely white.
About 2 inches. Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Hastula
(Hastula) acumen
ACUMEN AUGER
|
Rare at scuba depths.
Fine axial ribs may be obsolete or strong, color
yellow, olive, or brown. Columella marked with brown.
About 2 inches. Hawaii & the Indo-West Pacific. |

Hastula
(Hastula) matheroniana
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Dark brown with sharp, widely spaced axial ribs. About 1 inch.
Hawaii & the Tropical Pacific. |

Terebra
(Strioterebrum) nitida
 |
Kahe Point, Oahu, 25 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SHINY PACIFIC AUGER
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Gray with weak, widely-spaced ribs, subsutural band of
punctures. About 1.5 inches. Hawaii & the
Indo-Pacific. |

Terebra
(Strioterebrum) plumbea
 |
Puako, Hawaii, 80 feet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
LEAD-COLORED
AUGER
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Glossy brown with closely-spaced pale ribs, subsutural
band of deep punctures. Up to 1.5 inches. Hastula
contigua is a synonym. Hawaii & the Tropical Pacific. |

Terebra
(Strioterebrum) swainsoni
SWAINSON'S
AUGER
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Matte brown with strong curved ribs, subsutural band of
deep punctures, fine spiral threads between ribs. About 1 inch.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

Hastula
(Hastula) philippiana
|
Uncommon at scuba depths.
Glossy brown with pale ribs. Less than 1/2 inch. H.
tiedemani is a synonym. Hawaii & the Tropical Pacific. |

Terenolla pygmaea
PYGMY AUGER
|
Fairly common under rocks in shallow water.
Pink with brown spiral at suture, fine axial ribs. Less than 1/2 inch.
Hawaii & the Indo-Pacific. |

|