''Cookia sulcata'', or Cook's turban, 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 large 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 mollusc in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Turbinidae Turbinidae, the turban snails, are a family of small to large marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Trochoidea.Bouchet, P. (2014). Turbinidae Rafinesque, 1815. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespec ...

, the turban snails.Bouchet, P. (2012). Cookia sulcata (Lightfoot, 1786). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=413403 on 2012-03-15

Description

The length of the shell varies between 50 mm and 90 mm. The large, imperforate, rather thin shell is conic. The periphery is rounded. 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. Spires are ...

is more or less elevated. The sutures are deeply impressed. The seven

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). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane flo ...

s are well rounded, with close lamellose incremental striae, and corrugated by obliquely descending subtuberculose folds. The base is flattened bearing concentric densely squamose lirae, deeply concave in the center, and indented in the place of the

umbilicus Umbilicus may refer to: *The navel or belly button *Umbilicus (mollusc), a feature of gastropod, Nautilus and Ammonite shell anatomy * ''Umbilicus'' (plant), a genus of over ninety species of perennial flowering plants *Umbilicus urbis Romae The ...

. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is transversely oval, very oblique, pearly and somewhat corrugated within. The thin

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the ...

is arcuate. The umbilical region and part of base is covered with a thin callus. The operculum is brownish or white inside. The median tooth of the

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs 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 ...

has a long basal plate and a short body. It bears no cusp, and has small supporting wings. The first lateral also is much like that in

Pomaulax ''Pomaulax'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails. Description The large, solid, imperforate shell has a conic shape. The periphery is carinated. The base of the shell is flattened. Th ...

. The others bear cusps. The inner marginal is very broad, with wide cusp. The cusps of outer marginals are simple.G.W. Tryon (1888), Manual of Conchology X; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
(described as ''Astralium (Cookia) sulcatum'')

Distribution

This marine species occurs off

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5167062 sulcata Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin

Description

Distribution

References

Further reading

External links