''Clanculus puniceus'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

s the strawberry top shell or purplish clanculus, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of small sea snail, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod

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 es ...

in the family

Trochidae The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles ...

, the top shells.WoRMS (2011). Clanculus puniceus (Philippi, 1846). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=211269 on 2011-06-29

Shell description

The size of an adult shell of ''Clanculus puniceus'' varies between 13 mm and 22 mm. These small, robust shells are wide-conical, low spired and have a granulated coral red surface, with a pattern of small black and white dots. In shape, size, color, and

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 ...

, the shell of this species is reminiscent of that of a small

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely a ...

, hence the common name. The body whorl bears 20 or 21 cinguli, of which the 4th and 9th, as well as one or two upon the base, are articulated with black. The aperture is oval, with a strongly ridged lip. The shell is pearly (has nacre) on the inside. This species differs from ''

Clanculus pharaonius ''Clanculus pharaonius'', common name the strawberry topshell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails. It is the type species of this genus. Description The size of the shell varies betw ...

'' in being more finely granulate. Moreover, the body whorl is more deflected anteriorly than in ''Clanculus pharonius''.H. Pilsbry, Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
(described as ''Trochus puniceus'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, the

Mascarene The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

Basin,

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

(South Africa) and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Habitat

These sea snails live on rock in eulittoral zone.

References

* Herbert G.G. (1993). ''Revision of the Trochinae, tribe Trochini (Gastropoda: Trochidae) of southern Africa''. Annals of the natal Museum 34(2):239-308. * Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). ''Two Oceans''. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5125716 puniceus Gastropods described in 1846 Taxa named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi