''Acanthina'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

the unicorn snails, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small

predatory Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s, marine gastropod

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s in the family

Muricidae Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With over 1,700 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neog ...

, the murex snails or rock snails.Houart, R. (2010). Acanthina Fischer von Waldheim, 1807. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=377980 on 2010-12-08

Description

The shell is ovate. The

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk ...

is large. The

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

is rather elevated. The

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

is semilunar. The inner

lip The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...

is wide and flattened. The outer lip is crenated, with a prominent tooth at the fore part. Adams, H. & Adams, A. (1853-1858). The genera of Recent Mollusca; arranged according to their organization. London, van Voorst. Vol. 1: xl + 484 pp.; vol. 2: 661 pp.; vol. 3: 138 pls
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Habitat

The species of ''Acanthina'' are most numerous on the South American coasts of the Pacific Ocean. These snails live in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

Species

Species within the genus ''Acanthina'': * † '' Acanthina katzi'' Fleming, 1972 * '' Acanthina monodon'' (Pallas, 1774) * † '' Acanthina obesa'' DeVries, 2003 * † '' Acanthina rugosa'' DeVries, 2003 * † '' Acanthina triangularis'' DeVries, 2003 * '' Acanthina unicornis'' (Bruguière, 1789) ; Species brought into synonymy : * ''Acanthina paucilirata'' now '' Acanthinucella paucilirata'' * ''Acanthina punctulata'' now '' Acanthinucella punctulata'' * ''Acanthina lugubris'' now '' Mexacanthina lugubris'' * ''Acanthina spirata'' now '' Acanthinucella spirata'' * ''Acanthina angelica'' Oldroyd, 1918 : synonym of '' Mexacanthina angelica'' (Oldroyd, 1918) * ''Acanthina costata'' Fischer, 1807 : synonym of ''Acanthina monodon'' (Pallas, 1774) * ''Acanthina imbricata'' Fischer, 1807 : synonym of ''Acanthina monodon'' (Pallas, 1774) * ''Acanthina laevigata'' Fischer, 1807 : synonym of ''Acanthina monodon'' (Pallas, 1774) * ''Acanthina tyrianthina'' Berry, 1957 : synonym of '' Mexacanthina lugubris'' (Sowerby, 1821)

References

* McLean, James H., 1978 ‘’Marine Shells of Southern California’’, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Museum, Science Series 24, Revised Edition: 1-104

External links

Fischer von Waldheim, G. (1807). Museum Demidoff, ou, Catalogue systématique et raisonné des curiosités de la nature et de l'art: données à l'Université Impériale de Moscou par son excellence Monsieur Paul de Demidoff. Tome III. Végétaux et Animaux. Moscow: Imprimerie de Université Impériale de Moscou. 300 pp, 6 pls

Montfort P. (Denys de). (1808-1810). Conchyliologie systématique et classification méthodique des coquilles. Paris: Schoell. Vol. 1: pp. lxxxvii + 409

Schumacher, C. F. (1817). Essai d'un nouveau système des habitations des vers testacés. Schultz, Copenghagen. iv + 288 pp., 22 pls.

DeVries, T. J. (2003). Acanthina Fischer von Waldheim, 1807 (Gastropoda: Muricidae), an ocenebrine genus endemic to South America. The Veliger. 46 (4): 332-350.

Strong, A. M. (1925). Acanthina. The Nautilus. 38(3): 104
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2822504 Ocenebrinae