''Epidirella xanthophaes'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Turridae Turridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family name for a number of predatory sea snails, Marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.MolluscaBase (2018). Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838). ...

, the turrids.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Epidirella xanthophaes (R. B. Watson, 1886). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1057512 on 2020-11-19

Description

The length of the shell varies between 18 mm and 28 mm. (Original description by R.B. Watson) The shell is high, narrow, fusiform, subscalar, bicarinated, tubercled, fulvous, with brown specks between the carinal tubercles.

Sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

: Longitudinals — there are rough lines of growth. Spirals—the whole surface is covered with very unequal threads. Immediately below the suture is a broadish thread, puckered by the lines of growth. Below this on the shoulder of the shell there are three feeble threads rather widely and quite shallowly parted. The corner of the shoulder has a strongish rounded keel cut into white blunt tubercles, between which are chestnut spots. Below this keel is a broad and somewhat constricted furrow in which are some (3 to 6) feeble threads. The lower side of the furrow is formed by another keel also tubercled and speckled, but weaker than the upper keel. Between these two keels the shell is cylindrical. From this point it begins to contract, has one feeble thread, then plainly within the base two strongish threads, which are subtubercled. Below this on the front of the base and on 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 ...

are about 10 threads. The point of the columella has no threads, but is very rough. The colour of the shell is fulvous, with whitish and chestnut specks. The point of the snout is white. 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 high, narrow, conical and slopingly scalar.

Apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

is coronated (?). It is somewhat rubbed, but seems to consist of 3 to 4

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. The shell consists of seven whorls, exclusive of those of the apex. They are bicarinated, constricted above and below, of slow aud regular increase. The body whorl is small, with a rounded elongated base and a small somewhat longish

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 suture is strongly marked by the constriction above it, and is marginated by the puckered thread below. 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 ...

is club-shaped. The outer

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 ...

is thin, with a sinus strong rather than deep, V-shaped, extending from the suture, and having its apex at the keel. The inner lip is thin, concave above, then direct, and then at the siphonal canal strongly cut off to the left, and having a slight twist on its edge.

Biology

Members of the order Neogastropoda are mostly gonochoric and broadcast spawners. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktonic trochophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.

Life cycle and mating behavior

Embryos develop into planktonic trochophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia, at depths between 37 m and 161 m.

References

* May, W.L. 1923. An illustrated index of Tasmanian shells: with 47 plates and 1052 species. Hobart : Government Printer 100 pp. * Laseron, C. 1954. Revision of the New South Wales Turridae (Mollusca). Australian Zoological Handbook. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales pp. 56, pls 1–12. * Hedley, C. 1922. A revision of the Australian Turridae. Records of the Australian Museum 13(6): 213–359, pls 42–56 * Wilson, B. 1994. Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. * Powell, A. W. B. 1964. The family Turridae in the Indo-Pacific. Indo-Pacific Mollusca 1. (5): 227-346; 1 (7): 409-454 * Beechey, D. 2004. Epidirella xanthophaes (Watson, 1886). http://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Turridae/Pages/Epidirella_xanthophaes.htm

External links

Des Beechey, ''The Seashells of New South Wales''; January 2012

May W.L. (1911). New marine Mollusca. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. (1910): 380–398, pls 13–15

Gastropods.com: Epidirella xanthophaes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epidirella Xanthophaes xanthophaes Gastropods described in 1886 Gastropods of Australia