''Daphnella axis'', common name the axle pleuratoma, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate s ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

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 e ...

in the

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

Raphitomidae Raphitomidae is a family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.) (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". ''Malacologia'' 47(1-2). . 39 ...

Description

(Original description) The shell is straightly acuminate and contracted at the upper part. 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). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral d ...

show two keels round the upper part. They are transversely faintly ridged beneath. 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 opt ...

is oblong. The sinus, which is formed between the two keels, is unusually deep. The color of the shell is whitish, somewhat indistinctly stained with orange-brown. Reeve, L.A. 1846. ''Monograph of the genus Pleurotoma''. pls 34–40 in Reeve, L.A. (ed). Conchologia Iconica. London : L. Reeve & Co. Vol. 1.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, in the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

and in the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

- Queensland, Australia

References

* Brazier, J. 1876. ''A list of the Pleurotomidae collected during the Chevert expedition, with the description of the new species.'' Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1: 151–162 * Powell, A.W.B. 1966. T''he molluscan families Speightiidae and Turridae, an evaluation of the valid taxa, both Recent and fossil, with list of characteristic species''. Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Auckland, New Zealand 5: 1–184, pls 1–23 * Boettger, O. 1895. ''Die marinen Mollusken der Philippinen. IV. Die Pleurotomiden''. Nachrichtsblatt der Deutschen Malakozooligischen Gesellschaft 27(1-2, 3-4): 1-20, 41-63 * Melvill, J.C. & Standen, R. 1901. ''The Mollusca of the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and the Arabia''n Sea, as evidenced mainly through the collections of Mr. F.W. Townsend, 1893-1900; with descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1901(ii): 327-460 pls xxi-xxiv * Hedley, C. 1922. ''A revision of the Australian Turridae.'' Records of the Australian Museum 13(6): 213–359, pls 42–56 * Cogger, H.G., in Cogger, H.G., Cameron, E.E. & Cogger, H.M. 1983, "Amphibia and Reptilia", Ed. Walton, D.W. (ed.), Zoological Catalogue of Australia, vol. 1, pp. 313 pp., Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daphnella Axis axis Gastropods described in 1846