''Capensisvoluta abyssicola'', common name the yellow-foot hatch shell, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

, a 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 ...

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 ...

Volutidae Volutidae, common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm. They are marine gastropod mollusks. Most of the species have no operculum. Distribution This family of sea s ...

, the volutes.

Description

The length of the shell attains 105 mm. The shell is moderately elongate, with variable width and

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 ...

height. 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, accounting for well over half the shell’s length. The spire is conical, and 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 cancellate (hatched), consisting of relatively fine axial ribs and spiral cords of nearly equal strength. Much of the ventral surface is covered by a thin, transparent glaze extending from 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 ...

. The inner lip features numerous

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 ...

r pleats that become progressively stronger toward the anterior. The outer lip is slightly reflected, with a thickened inner margin bearing numerous ridge-like denticles. The surface is dull, often appearing etched or eroded. Fresh specimens range in color from biscuit to pale orangish- or pinkish-brown. The interior of the aperture is pale apricot, while the columellar pleats are white. The surface is frequently encrusted with a muddy deposit. The animal itself is greyish-white to yellow, heavily speckled with greyish markings.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the west coast of South Africa, off Atlantic Cape region (Walvis Bay to Cape Agulhas), at depths between 100 m and 550 m.

References

* Aiken R.P. (2010) Volutidae. pp. 314–333, in: Marais A.P. & Seccombe A.D. (eds), ''Identification guide to the seashells of South Africa. Volume 1.'' Groenkloof: Centre for Molluscan Studies. 376 pp. *

External links

* {{Taxobar, from=Q4813699 Volutidae Gastropods described in 1848