''Anarithma maesi'' is a species of

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 ...

Mitromorphidae Mitromorphidae is a monophyletic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Mitromorphidae Casey, 1904. In: MolluscaBase (2018). Accessed through: World Register of Marin ...

.Rosenberg, G. (2012). Anarithma maesi Drivas & Jay, 1986. In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=594420 on 2018-02-05

Description

Original description: "Globose, wide, biconical. The length of the narrow aperture is the same as the height of the spire. The sculpture consists of 15 axial plicae per whorl, overcrossed by spiral cords, 11 on the body whorl, followed by 11 more, slightly stronger and more widely spaced on the base. There are 4 riblets on the penultimate whorl, 2 on the preceding whorl, while the earlier whorls have only the two strongest cords. The protoconch is conical, smooth and brown and is made up of three and a half to four whorls. The shell is entirely pale brown, with a whitish spiral band on the upper part of the body whorl. The holotype is 4 mm in height and 2.1 mm in width. The size varies from 4 to 4.6 mm. The species is quite similar to ''Anarithma metula'', from which it differs by its brown protoconch." The length of the shell attains 5 mm.

Type material

"The holotype will be deposited in the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, and two paratypes in the Natal Museum, South Africa."

Distribution

This marine species occurs off

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

Habitat

"It is rare, up till now always found dead in hand-dredged muddy black sand,
at depths ranging from 16 to 80 m., but mostly at 40 m."Drivas & May, 1986-''La Conchiglia 18, No. 208-209, page 9.''

References

* Drivas, J. & Jay, M., 1986. - ''Shells of Reunion. 8- Family Turridae Swainson, 1840''. La Conchiglia 18(208-209): 8-10

External links

MNHN, Paris: ''Anarithma maesi'' (holotype)
* * maesi Gastropods described in 1986 {{mitromorphidae-stub