Concholepas concholepas

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Concholepas concholepas
Concholepas concholepas
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Subclass: Orthogastropoda Superorder: Caenogastropoda Order: Sorbeoconcha Suborder: Hypsogastropoda Infraorder: Neogastropoda Superfamily: Muricoidea Family: Muricidae Subfamily: Rapaninae Genus: Concholepas Species: C. concholepas
Binomial name
Concholepas concholepas Bruguière, 1789
Loco range map
Subspecies
Concholepas concholepas fernandezianus

Concholepas concholepas, Chilean abalone, loco (Chilean Spanish a loanword from Mapudungun^[1]) or pata de burro and chanque (Peruvian Spanish) is a species of marine gastropod endemic to the coasts of Chile and Peru. C. concholepas is a benthic predator that lives on rocks in temperate waters from sea levels down to depths of 40 m.^[2] Its diet consists of Mytilids and barnacles. Its geographic distribution ranges from Lobos de Afuera in Peru, to Cape Horn in Chile, including the Juan Fernández Islands.^[3] C. concholepas is used in Chilean cuisine and is commercially marketed worldwide as a delicacy - erroneously under the name of "Chilean abalone". While real abalones are herbivores and belongs to the Archaeogastropoda order, locos are carnivores and belong to the Sorbeoconcha order. Its economic value and ecological importance as top predator have made the loco the most studied marine invertebrate species in Chile (Castilla 1988). Apart from this the loco is appreciated for its blue blood that contains hemocyanin which is used against bladder and prostate cancer.^[4] Due to overfishing its extraction from the seas has been limited by law since 1989 in Chile.

Contents 1 Life cycle 2 Extraction 3 Blood 4 Shell 5 Cuisine 6 References 7 Sources

[edit] Life cycle

C. concholepas is dioecious which means that the populations are divided between male and females. In central Chile females lay egg capsules on low intertidal and shallow subtidal rocky surfaces during austral fall months. After around one month of development inside the capsules, small planktotrophic veliger larva (2.6 mm) are released. The larvae spend the following three months in the water column and once they become competent, they dwell at the sea surface until they settle on rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats down to 30 m.^[2] The normal size of sexual maturity is of between 5.4 and 6.7 cm, it takes about 4 years to reach this size (Zagal y Hermosilla, 2001).

[edit] Extraction

C. concholepas is one of the most important mollusc species and a major product of aquacultural industry on the Chilean coast.^[5] In 1975 about 5,000 tons were extracted annually. In 1980 the extraction peaked with a catch of 25,000 tons.^[6] Since 1989 extraction is illegal in Chile but from 1992 onwards some exceptions have been made for accredited commercial divers. The minimum size allowed for extraction is 10 cm. Currently the only legal way for artisan fishermen or other people to catch locos is to have an "AMERB" (Spanish for Marine Area of Benthonic Resources Extraction). However even in these areas extraction is prohibited from December to July from Valparaíso Region northward and from January or February to July south of it. Populations have shrunk and a recent study shows that extraction is making an artificial selection to eliminate faster-growing individuals.^[3][7] The same study also showed that populations in Chile are relatively homogeneous with low genetic variability. Due to over-extraction scientists have since 1986 studied the possibility of commercial cultivation.

[edit] Blood

The hemocyanin found in C. concholepas blood has immunotherapeutic effects against bladder and prostate cancer. In 2006 research mice were primed with C. concholepas before implantation of bladder tumor (MBT-2) cells. Mice treated with C. concholepas showed a significant anti-tumor effect. The effects included prolonged survival, decreased tumor growth and incidence and lack of toxic effects.^[4]

[edit] Shell

C. concholepas has a thick, round and white-brown to purple grey shell that resembles a phrygian cap.The outer surface of the shell shows strong lamellose ribs. It has a low degree of spirality and a large aperture compared to other gastropods and muricids, in fact a loco cannot hide completely inside the shell if it is turned upside down and has therefore no need of its operculum; instead it relies on its strong foot to remain in place. The shell is made of calcite with an inner layer of aragonite.^[8] The shell is used as ashtrays in Chile.

C. concholepas shell is also a potential proxy-bearer for climate change studies. There are many fossil shell accumulations in Pleistocene coastal terraces. Climate indicators are, by far, less abundant for ancient cold seas; therefore, investigating the ability of C. concholepas will provide valuable signals for long-term evolution of the sea surface temperatures in cold seas, and might be important in reconstructing the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) history.^[5]

[edit] Cuisine

In Chilean cuisine it is eaten with mayonnaise or as a chupe de locos soup in a earthenware bowl. The chupe de locos typically contains about 6 loco foots, 100 gr fatty cheese such as Chanco cheese, 2 eggs, 4 spoonful of grated bread, salt and paprika.[8]

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• (Spanish) Fishing resources database