1The School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.

Following the serendipitous capture of the bathyal gastropod Calliostoma (Otukaia) alertae, observations were made to determine if it would wipe the surface of its shell with its foot, a phenomenon know as shell wiping and only recorded in four other gastropod species, all Calliostomatids. C. alertae wiped its shell at least once every 24 h, in an identical manner recorded for other species. Because of its bathyal habitat and lack of shell fouling, it is concluded that shell wiping in C. alertae probably functions to reduce shell fouling and/or to reduce any predation pressure. Given the different habitats, depths, function and distributions of the species known to exhibit shell wiping, it is likely that shell wiping is a feature common in the genus Calliostoma.

Key words: fouling, pedal mucus; provendering; Vetigastropoda, Gastropoda, behaviour