''Crassicantharus noumeensis'', common name the gold-banded latirus, 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 ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

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 ...

Dolicholatiridae The Dolicholatiridae are a family of medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Buccinoidea Buccinoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of very small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. This supe ...

Description

The size of the shell varies between 8 mm and 25 mm. (Original description in Latin) This ash-gray imperforate, elongate-fusiform shell is longitudinally obtusely ribbed and transversely decussate with prominent wrinkles and granulose lines. Three elegant orange bands adorn the shell: the first is subsutural, the second and third supramedian and nearly contiguous. 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 ...

is elevated with a scarcely visible suture. Eight to nine convex

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 are present, the first two sub-smooth and pinkish-brown. The body whorl, slightly smaller than the spire, features six orange bands: the fourth and fifth below the middle, and the sixth, basal, originating from the

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 ...

and ending in a very short, abruptly interrupted

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 ...

. The ovate

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 internally purplish-brown at the suture. The simple, purplish-brown

peristome Peristome (from the Greek language, Greek ''peri'', meaning 'around' or 'about', and ''stoma'', 'mouth') is an anatomical feature that surrounds an opening to an organ or structure. Some plants, fungi, and shelled gastropods have peristomes. In mo ...

has a strongly biplicate columellar margin and a subarcuate, subacute outer margin.

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Eastern Indian Ocean; off Hawaii, Japan, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Oceania, Philippines and Australia (Western Australia)

References

* Kay, E.A. 1979. ''Hawaiian Marine Shells. Reef and shore fauna of Hawaii. Section 4 : Mollusca''. Honolulu, Hawaii : Bishop Museum Press Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publication Vol. 64(4) 653 pp. * Wilson, B. (1994) ''Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Vol. 2 Neogastropods''. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia, 370 pp. page(s): 67

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from2=Q7701549, from1=Q61692213 Dolicholatiridae Gastropods described in 1870