''Apaturris expeditionis'' is a species of

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 ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Borsoniidae Borsoniidae is a monophyletic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Borsoniidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/ ...

Description

(Original description) The shell is broadly fusiform and broadest about the middle 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 equal in length to 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 ...

. The 6½

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). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagra ...

s are flattened. The suture is impressed. 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 ventricose and regularly tapered in front. The aperture is long, oblique and posteriorly deflected to the right. The acute outer

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 not thin. The sinus is near the suture, deep and shows a thick rim. The thin inner lip is broad. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

is flattened, and has two obscure plications near the middle. The canal is short, wide and truncate in front. Sculpture: The smooth

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called " ...

consists of 1½ whorls. The first adult whorl has 2 spiral threads on the periphery, 2nd with 10 sinuous axial ridges overridden by fine spiral threads. The succeeding two whorls are similarly sculptured, the axial ridges and spiral threads being more numerous. The body whorl shows low axial ridges, sinuous near the suture and becoming obsolete at the periphery, the whole overridden by close regular spiral threads. Colour : Dark buff, a faint purple spiral band on the lower edge of the spire whorls. On the body whorl are sinuous brown marks near the suture. Height, 5–2 mm. Diameter, 2–2 mm. Variations from type. – The colour varies from white to buff, most shells being ornamented with a few irregular brown marks. Habitat. – Dead shells dredged in 10 m. to 30 m. on gravelly bottom off Sunday Island.

Distribution

This marine species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to New Zealand and occurs off the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

in gravel at depths between 31 m and 47 m.

References

External links

*
Spencer H.G., Willan R.C., Marshall B.A. & Murray T.J. (2011) ''Checklist of the Recent Mollusca Recorded from the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apaturris Expeditionis Apaturris Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Gastropods of New Zealand Endemic molluscs of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1915