''Borsonella'' 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 ...

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 Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

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 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 has a small, blunt nucleus of one or two

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. The

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

is chiefly spiral, feeble, except for one or two spiral carinae, sometimes with a few small riblets or beads on the principal carina. The

periostracum The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods an ...

is conspicuous, smooth or vermiculate. The

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water i ...

is wide and very short. The 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 sharp, simple, arcuate. 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 solid, with one strong, nearly horizontal plait continuous upon the whole axis. This axis is impervious, the operculum absent. Type Borsonia dalli There is never more than one plait in ''Borsonella'' ; in ''

Cordieria ''Cordieria'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Borsoniidae.Bouchet, P. (2015). Cordieria. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=ta ...

'' Rouault, 1848, as restricted by Cossmann, there are never less than two. In '' Rouaultia'' the anal sulcus is narrow, sharp, and situated at the shoulder in the peripheral carina. Both Cordieria and typical '' Borsonia'' have a long and slender canal and the general aspect of ''

Gemmula ''Gemmula'', common name the gem turrids, is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turridae, the turrids. These snails have been recorded as fossils from the Paleocene to the Quaternary (from 66.043 to 0.012 Ma). Fossils ...

'' Weinkauff, 1875, while ''Borsonella'' resembles an ''

Antiplanes ''Antiplanes'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Pseudomelatomidae,. Description (Original description) These deep-water and abyssal forms are smooth except for incremental lines and sometimes fi ...

'' Dall, 1902 with a strong plait on the proximal part of the columella.

Species

Species within the genus ''Borsonella'' include: * '' Borsonella abrupta'' McLean & Poorman, 1971 * '' Borsonella agassizii'' (Dall, 1908) * '' Borsonella barbarensis'' Dall, 1919 * '' Borsonella bartschi'' (Arnold, 1903) * ''

Borsonella callicesta ''Borsonella callicesta'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Borsoniidae. Description The small shell is white, covered with an olivaceous periostracum, and with four whorls exclusive of an apical whorl or two ( ...

'' (Dall, 1902) * '' Borsonella coronadoi'' (Dall, 1908) * '' Borsonella diegensis'' (Dall, 1908) * ''

Borsonella erosina ''Borsonella erosina'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Borsoniidae. Description The length of the shell attains 28 mm, the diameter 11.5 mm. (Original description) The fusiform shell is white, with ...

'' (Dall, 1908) * '' Borsonella galapagana'' McLean & Poorman, 1971 * '' Borsonella hooveri'' (Arnold, 1903) * '' Borsonella merriami'' (Arnold, 1903) * '' Borsonella omphale'' Dall, 1919 * '' Borsonella pinosensis'' Bartsch, 1944 * † '' Borsonella sinelirata'' Marwick, 1931 ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Borsonella angelena'' Hanna, 1924: synonym of ''Borsonella omphale'' Dall, 1919 * ''Borsonella civitella'' Dall, 1919: synonym of ''Borsonella bartschi'' (Arnold, 1903) * ''Borsonella nicoli'' Dall, 1919: synonym of ''Borsonella bartschi'' (Arnold, 1903) * ''Borsonella nychia'' Dall, 1919: synonym of ''Borsonella coronadoi'' (Dall, 1908) * ''Borsonella rhodope'' Dall, 1919: synonym of '' Rhodopetoma diaulax'' (Dall, 1908)

References

External links

Bouchet P., Kantor Yu.I., Sysoev A. & Puillandre N. (2011) A new operational classification of the Conoidea. Journal of Molluscan Studies 77: 273-308.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3171853 Gastropod genera