''Brachycythara'' 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 very small predatory
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 ...
Mangeliidae
Mangeliidae is a monophyletic family of small to medium-sized, predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.
Bouchet, P. (2011). Mangeliidae P. Fischer, 1883. In: MolluscaBase (2016). Accessed through: World Regis ...
.
Description
(Original description) The shell is small, stout and biconic. The
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 " ...
is small-tipped, consisting of about 3 very rapidly enlarging
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
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 sculptured with crowded, protractive, curved, axial riblets. 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 long and narrow. The base of the shell is barely emarginate. The anterior canal is not differentiated. 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 not varicose, except at intervals corresponding to axial ribs. The anal notch is shallow. Specimens with a perfectly formed outer lip show a low denticle below the notch well within the aperture. The parietal callus is moderately thickened adjoining notch. The sculpture consists of axial ribs, barely overridden by fine spiral threads, and of microscopic frosted spirals.
Brachycythara is a genus of small, biconic turrids having a very rapidly enlarging axially sculptured protoconch, non-varicose outer lip, and no anterior canal.
Species
Species within the genus ''Brachycythara'' include:
* ''
Brachycythara alba''
(Adams C. B., 1850)
* ''
Brachycythara barbarae''
Lyons, 1972
* ''
Brachycythara biconica''
(C. B. Adams, 1850)
* ''
Brachycythara brevis''
(Adams C. B., 1850)
* † ''
Brachycythara dasa''
J. Gardner, 1937
* ''
Brachycythara galae''
Fargo, 1953
* † ''
Brachycythara gibba''
Guppy, R.J.L. in Guppy, R.J.L. & W.H. Dall, 1896
* ''
Brachycythara multicincta''
Rolan & Espinosa, 1999
* ''
Brachycythara nanodes''
(Melvill, 1923)
* † ''
Brachycythara reidenbachi''
Ward & B.W. Blackwelder, 1987
* † ''
Brachycythara turrita''
W.C. Mansfield, 1930
;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Brachycythara atlantidea''
(Knudsen, 1952): synonym of ''
Bela atlantidea''
(Knudsen, 1952)
* ''Brachycythara beatriceae''
Mariottini, 2007: synonym of ''
Bela beatriceae
''Bela beatriceae'' (formerly ''Brachycythara beatriceae'') is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Aff ...
''
(Mariottini, 2007)
* ''Brachycythara multicinctata''
Rolán & Espinosa, 1999: synonym of ''
Brachycythara multicincta''
Rolán & Espinosa, 1999
* ''Brachycythara stegeri''
Nowell-Usticke, 1959:
synonym of ''
Splendrillia stegeri''
(Nowell-Usticke, 1959)
References
* Rolán E. & Espinosa J. (1999).'' El complejo Brachycythara biconica (C. B. Adams, 1850) (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Turridae) en Cuba, con la descripción de una nueva especie''. Bollettino Malacologico, 34(1-4): 43-49.
External links
Todd, Jonathan A. "Systematic list of gastropods in the Panama Paleontology Project collections." Budd and Foster 2006 (1996) Tucker, J.K. 2004 ''Catalog of recent and fossil turrids (Mollusca: Gastropoda)''. Zootaxa 682:1-1295.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3168143
Gastropod genera