''Euchelus asper'' 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 sea snail, a marine gastropod

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 es ...

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 ...

Chilodontidae.Bouchet, P. (2012). ''Euchelus asper'' (Gmelin, 1791). Retrieved through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=701781 on 2013-04-14

Description

The size of the shell varies between 6 mm and 35 mm. The thick, conoidal shell is imperforate in adult specimens. Its color is dull ashen, dotted with brown, rosy, and black. The 5½-6 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). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane flo ...

s are separated by profound sutures, the first one eroded, the rest rough. They are ornamented with close, granulose, unequal cinguli (the colored bands or spiral ornamentation), with two on the upper, and 3 or 4 on the body whorl more prominent. The penultimate whorl has 12-15 lirae. The globose body whorl is rounded, descending, and convex 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 ...

is ovate-rounded, the margins nearly continuous, plicated finely all around. The

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 base of the shell is dentate. This species is highly variable. It is also known under the form ''Euchelus asper quadricarinatus'' ''(Holten, H.S., 1802)'' (synonym: ''Trochus alabastrum'' Reeve, 1858), common name the four-keeled margarite. The size of the shell varies between 6 mm and 12 mm. It is found in the Indo-Pacific.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific.

References

* Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. (1999) ''Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Japan''. Elle Scientific Publications, Yao, Japan, 749 pp. * Herbert D.G. (2012) ''A revision of the Chilodontidae (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda: Seguenzioidea) of southern Africa and the south-western Indian Ocean.'' African Invertebrates, 53(2): 381–502.

External links

To World Register of Marine Species

Gastropods.com: ''Euchelus asper''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q12057328

asper Asper may refer to: *Asper (') breathing mark in romanization of Greek *Asper (surname) *Asper, Missouri, a ghost town *Aemilius Asper, Latin grammarian *Aspron, a type of late Byzantine silver or billon coins *Akçe, an Ottoman silver coin, simi ...

Gastropods described in 1791