''Daphnella retifera'' is a
species of
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 in the
family 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). . 3 ...
.
Description
The length of the shell varies between 7 mm and 14 mm.
(Original description) The small, thin shell is oval and short-spired. It is yellowish with pale cloudy markings of brownish. The protoconch has a sinusigerid (or diagonally cancellate) structure to begin with, but not strongly sculptured, and the larval shell after 2½ turns of the usual sort becomes smooth and continues for 2½
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 more, quite smooth and rounded, before the normal
sculpture begins. The latter continues in the largest specimen for 2½ turns more. The whorls moderately rounded. The fasciole is hardly discernible except by following the incremental lines. It is sculptured like the rest, and not excavated. The suture is distinct. The sculpture is composed of numerous tine sharp spiral threads with slightly wider interspaces, crossed by somewhat less prominent transverse threads, making a very regular reticulation over the whole surface. At most of the intersections a small point elevates itself, giving a peculiarly rasp-like appearance to the dull unpolished surface of the shell. The notch is shallow, situated at the suture. The
aperture is pointed behind. The outer
lip is arched well forward, hardly contracted for the broad short
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 is ...
. The edge is thin, the interior not lirate. The
columella is not callous, nearly straight, simple, very slightly recurved at the end of the siphonal canal.
Distribution
''Daphnella retifera'' can be found in Atlantic waters, ranging from the coast of
North Carolina south to
Brazil.;
[Tunnell, John W., Jr., Felder, Darryl L., & Earle, Sylvia A., eds. ''Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota, Volume 1: Biodiversity.'' Texas A&M University Press, 2009. 668.] also in the
Gulf of Mexico.
References
* Lyons, William G. "New Turridae (Gastropoda: Toxoglossa) from south Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico." The Nautilus 86.1 (1972): 3-7.
External links
*
Gastropods.com: ''Daphnella retifera'' Rosenberg, G.; Moretzsohn, F.; García, E. F. (2009). Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas
retifera
Gastropods described in 1889
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