Concholepas concholepas
Concholepas concholepas
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Muricoidea
Family:	Muricidae
Subfamily:	Rapaninae
Genus:	Concholepas
Species:	C. concholepas
Binomial name
Concholepas concholepas Bruguière, 1789
Subspecies
C. concholepas fernandezianus
Loco range map

Concholepas concholepas, common names the "Chilean abalone", loco (Chilean Spanish a loanword from Mapudungun^[1]) or pata de burro and chanque (Peruvian Spanish) is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk native to the coasts of Chile and Peru. Despite a superficial resemblance, this species is not a true abalone, but a muricid.

Due to overfishing, in Chile the harvesting of this species has been limited by law since 1989.

The blue blood of this species contains hemocyanin, which is being investigated as a treatment for bladder and prostate cancer.^[2]

Contents 1 Habitat and distribution 2 Shell description 3 Life cycle 4 Human uses 4.1 Commercial fishery 4.1.1 Cuisine 4.2 Possible medical use 4.3 Other possible scientific uses 5 References 6 Sources

[edit] Habitat and distribution

C. concholepas is a benthic predator that lives on rocks in temperate waters from sea levels down to depths of 40 m.^[3] 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.^[4]

[edit] Shell description

C. concholepas has a thick, slightly oval and white-brown to purple grey shell that resembles a Phrygian cap in shape. The outer surface of the shell shows strong lamellose ribs of which there are both radial and circular-concentric ones. 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.^[5]

The shells of this species are used as ashtrays in Chile.

[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.^[3] The normal size at which the snail reaches sexual maturity is between 5.4 and 6.7 cm; it takes about 4 years to reach this size^[6].

[edit] Human uses

C. concholepas is used in Chilean cuisine and is commercially marketed worldwide as a delicacy - misleadingly under the name "Chilean abalone". (True abalones are primitive herbivores whereas Concholepas concholepas is a sophisticated carnivore. Its economic value and ecological importance as top predator have made the loco the most studied marine invertebrate species in Chile.^[7]

[edit] Commercial fishery

On the Chilean coast, C. concholepas is one of the most important edible mollusc species and is a major product of the aquacultural industry.^[8] In 1975 about 5,000 tons were extracted annually. In 1980 the extraction peaked with a catch of 25,000 tons.^[9] 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.^[4][10] 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] Cuisine

In Chilean cuisine the meat of the foot of these snails is cooked and 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 grams of a fatty cheese such as Chanco cheese, 2 eggs, 4 spoonful of grated bread, salt and paprika.[8]

[edit] Possible medical use

The hemocyanin found in the blood of C. concholepas 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.^[2]

[edit] Other possible scientific uses

C. concholepas shells are 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.^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• (Spanish) Fishing resources database