''Aplus dorbignyi'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Pisaniidae The Pisaniidae are a taxonomic family of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Buccinoidea.Rosenberg, G. (2018). Pisaniidae Gray, 1857. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespeci ...

Description

The shell size varies between 10 mm and 20 mm. This shell is quite variable in pattern and shape. Usually it is quite elongated, with strong axial ribs. It shows a brown or yellowish background with paler nodules and one or two suprasutural white bands along the spirals. The interior is white. The ovate, subfusiform shell is pointed at its summit. It is composed of eight very distinct

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

s, a little swollen, ridged lengthwise by several subnodulous folds, covered also by transverse striae and ridges. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is ovate, violet, edged with reddish, and narrowed at its base. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is deeply furrowed within. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is nearly straight, subgranular; rarely having a distinct fold at the base. The general color is brown, varied with fawn color, with a white zone at the base of each whorl, a broader decurrent band towards the middle of the body whorl.Kiener (1840). General species and iconography of recent shells : comprising the Massena Museum, the collection of Lamarck, the collection of the Museum of Natural History, and the recent discoveries of travellers; Boston: W.D. Ticknor, 1837
(described as ''Buccinum dorbignyi'')

Distribution

This species occurs in European waters, the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and in the Atlantic Ocean off

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. It lives under rocks at low tide,

References

* Vine, P. (1986). ''Red Sea Invertebrates''. Immel Publishing, London. 224 pp. * Coen G. (1933). Saggio di una Sylloge Molluscorum Adriaticorum. Memorie del Regio Comitato Talassografico Italiano 192: pp. i–vii, 1–186 * Wolff, W.J.; Duiven, P.; Esselink, P.; Gueve, A. (1993). ''Biomass of macrobenthic tidal flat fauna of the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania''. Hydrobiologia 258(1–3): 151–163 * Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). ''European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification.'' Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213

External links

Payraudeau B. C. (1826). Catalogue descriptif et méthodique des Annelides et des Mollusques de l'île de Corse. Paris, 218 pp. + 8 pl

Costa O. G. (1830 ["1829"]) Catalogo sistematico e ragionato de' testacei delle Due Sicilie. Tipografia della Minerva, Napoli. pp. 1–8, i–cxxxii, pl. 1–3.

Risso A. (1826–1827). Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l'Europe Méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes. Paris, Levrault

Monterosato T. A. (di) (1884). Nomenclatura generica e specifica di alcune conchiglie mediterranee. Palermo, Virzi, 152 pp

Aissaoui C., Puillandre N., Bouchet P., Fassio G., Modica M.V. & Oliverio M. (2016). Cryptic diversity in Mediterranean gastropods of the genus Aplus (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae). Scientia Marina. 80(4): 521–533
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7225668 Pisaniidae Gastropods described in 1826