STUDIES ON THE OYSTER DRILL (. UROSALPINX CINEREA, SAY) 
By Henry Federighi, Ph. D., Temporary Assistant, U. S. Bureau of Fisheries 
J- 
CONTENTS 
Introduction 85 
Natural history of Urosalpinx cinerea, Say 86 
Description of the species 86 
Range and occurrence 86 
Salinity and distribution 89 
Creeping and migrations 93 
Temperature effects 96 
Feeding habits 97 
Breeding habits 101 
Tropisms 103 
Control measures 105 
Methods for removal from infested areas 107 
Methods for preventing distribution 107 
Summary 110 
Literature cited 111 
INTRODUCTION 
Although the common oyster drill (Urosalpinx cinerea) 1 2 feeds on many mollusks 
its economic importance is due to the fact that it destroys a great many oysters. At 
times the damage wrought has been very great. In Long Island Sound (Rowe, 1894) 
and in New Jersey (Nelson, 1923) the loss from this species amounts annually to 
over a million dollars, and recently it has been reported as causing great destruction 
to the oyster beds of England (Orton and Winckworth, 1928). 
In spite of the above facts and although several investigators had called attention 
to the pressing need of more information on the subject no detailed study had ever 
been made of the species (Rathbun, 1892; Collins, 1890; Townsend, 1893; Hall, 1894; 
Moore, 1897, 1911; Churchill, 1921), and the only available data are those collected 
by investigators during their work on the oyster and Pope’s (1910-1911) unpublished 
manuscript on the oyster drill in New England. 
This paucity of information on the life history of the drill and its invasion of 
Hampton Roads, Va., brought the question to the immediate attention of the United 
States Bureau of Fisheries. The situation at Hampton Roads was alarming. Planters 
claimed to have lost as much as 90 per cent of their oysters. Since this is an important 
oyster producing area the continued invasion demanded some remedy and so in 1926 
the author was commissioned to make a detailed study of the species. The work was 
carried on in a temporary laboratory at the United States Public Health Quarantine 
1 Approved for publication Jan. 16, 1931. *• 
2 The terms “drill” and “borer” have been used to describe other gastropods besides Urosalpinx cinerea but this report will 
deal only with this species. Many older reports simply use the term “drill” (Ryder, 1883; Rathbun, 1893; Hall, 1894; Rowe, 1894; 
Moore, 1897; 1898, 1911; Swift, 1898) and do not give the species, so that it is impossible to determine exactly to which of the many 
“drilling” gastropods the author is referring. 
85 
