''Clionella'' 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 ...

Clavatulidae Clavatulidae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. The family is not well differentiated morphologically. Clavatulidae was raised, based on cladistic an ...

Description

The shell of the species in this genus is narrowly bucciniform and turriculated. 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 somewhat conical, containing 2 whorls. The

whorls 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 diagram ...

are somewhat flattened, longitudinally ribbed with long, flexuous ribs, and have a thick epidermis. The ribs lack subsutural or peripheral processes. 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 ...

of the shell is elevated. 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 truncated. 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 scarcely indicated at the broad base of 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 ...

. The anal sinus is very shallow. The

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 ...

has a small infrasutural anal sinus with no distinct parietal tubercle. The operculum has a lateral nucleus. The

foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...

is short, broad, and rounded behind. The eyes are located near the tip of the tentacles.

Radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

formula (1-1-1),

Distribution

This marine genus mainly occurs off

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Species

Species within the genus ''Clionella'' include: * ''

Clionella aglaophanes ''Clionella aglaophanes'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The shell grows to a length of 7.6 mm. (Original description) The shell is high, narrow, conically cylindrical, with a ...

'' (Watson, 1882) * ''

Clionella bornii ''Clionella bornii'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The size of an adult shell varies between 25 mm and 40 mm. (Freely translated from the original Latin description) The ...

'' (E.A. Smith, 1877) * ''

Clionella confusa ''Clionella confusa'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The shell grows to a length of 40 mm. (Original description) The elongate shell has a uniform bright red or yellowish colo ...

'' Smith E. A., 1906 * ''

Clionella costata ''Clionella costata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description (Original description) The shell has a fusiform shape and is longitudinally ribbed. There is a deep sinus at the top of the oute ...

'' (Swainson, 1840) * ''

Clionella halistrepta ''Clionella halistrepta'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The size of the shell varies between 25 mm and 42 mm. (Original description) The shell has a fusiform shape. The ...

'' (Bartsch, 1915) * ''

Clionella kraussii ''Clionella kraussii'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. This species was named after Ferdinand Krauss (1812–1890), author oKrauss (1848), Die südafrikanischen Mollusken, ein Beitrag zur Kennt ...

'' (E.A. Smith, 1877) * '' Clionella liltvedi'' Kilburn, 1985 * ''

Clionella lobatopsis ''Clionella lobatopsis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. ''Clavatula lobatopsis'' Barnard, 1963, was transferred to ''Gemmula (Ptychosyrinx)'' in the Turrinae by Kilburn (1983) Description Di ...

'' (Barnard, 1963) * ''

Clionella rosaria ''Clionella rosaria'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Clavatulidae. The forma ''Clionella rosaria'' f. ''kowiensis'' (Turton, 1932) is accepted as ''Clionella rosaria'' (Reeve, 1846) Descri ...

'' (Reeve, 1846) * ''

Clionella semicostata ''Clionella semicostata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The size of an adult shell varies between 15 mm and 32 mm. The whorls are with shallow channel above. The shoulde ...

'' (Kiener, 1840) * ''

Clionella sinuata ''Clionella sinuata'', common name the ribbed turrid, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Fossils of this species have been reported from Pleistocene localities on the west coast of South Africa. D ...

'' (Born, 1778) * ''

Clionella striolata ''Clionella striolata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The size of an adult shell varies between 14 mm and 22 mm. The squat, bucciniform shell has convex whorls and a rat ...

'' Turton, 1932 * ''

Clionella subcontracta ''Clionella subcontracta'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. Description The size of an adult shell varies between 8 mm and 1 mm. The dark yellowish-brown shell is elongate but has a na ...

'' (E.A. Smith, 1904) * '' Clionella subventricosa'' (E.A. Smith, 1877) * '' Clionella vilma'' (Thiele, 1925) ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Clionella amblia'' R.B. Watson, 1882: synonym of ''

Inodrillia nucleata ''Inodrillia nucleata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Horaiclavidae. It was previously included within the family Turridae. Description The length of the shell attains 13.5 mm, its diameter 5 mm ...

'' (Dall, 1881) * ''Clionella assimilans'' Turton, 1932; synonym of '' Clavatula tripartita'' (Weinkauff, 1876) * ''Clionella bipartita'' E.A. Smith, 1877: synonym of '' Clavatula tripartita'' (Weinkauff, H.C. & W. Kobelt, 1876) * ''Clionella conspicienda'' Locard, 1897: synonym of '' Belomitra quadruplex'' (Watson, 1882) * ''Clionella delicatulina'' Locard, 1897: synonym of '' Belomitra quadruplex'' (Watson, 1882) * ''Clionella elizabethae'' Bartsch, P., 1915: synonym of '' Nquma rousi'' (Sowerby III, 1886) * ''Clionella gravis'' (Hinds, 1843): synonym of '' Makiyamaia gravis'' (Hinds, 1843) * ''Clionella kowiensis'' Turton, 1932: synonym of ''

'' (Reeve, 1846) * ''Clionella kowiensis viridis'' Turton, 1932: synonym of ''Clionella kowiensis'' Turton, 1932, synonym of ''

'' (Reeve, 1846) * ''Clionella krausii'' (E. A. Smith, 1877): synonym of ''

'' (E.A. Smith, 1877) * ''Clionella nereia'' Bartsch, 1915: synonym of ''

'' (Reeve, 1846) * ''Clionella proxima'' Turton, 1932: synonym of ''

'' (Reeve, 1846) * ''Clionella quadruplex'' (Watson, 1882) : synonym of '' Belomitra quadruplex'' (Watson, 1882) * ''Clionella sinuatum'' (Born, 1778): synonym of ''

'' (Born, 1778) * ''Clionella sybaritica'' Bartsch, 1915: synonym of ''

'' (Reeve, 1846) * ''Clionella taxea'' (Röding, 1798): synonym of '' Clavatula taxea'' (Röding, 1798) * ''Clionella tripartita'' (Weinkauff & Kobelt, 1876): synonym of '' Clavatula tripartita'' (Weinkauff, 1876)

References

* Swainson, Treatise Malacology, 1840, pp. 202, 342, text fig. 104 * Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1847, p. 153

External links

K.H. Barnard, ''Contribution to the knowledge of South African marine Mollusca. Part 1. Gastropoda; Prosobranchiata: Toxoglossa''; Annals of The South African Museum, vol. 44 p. 73 -163
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3718913