''Gibbula ardens'' 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), ...

of small

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 ...

, known as top snails or top shells, 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 ...

s in the family

Trochidae The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles ...

, the top snails.Gofas, S. (2013). Gibbula ardens (Salis Marschlins, 1793). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141780 on 2014-01-22

Description

The shell of an adult ''Gibbula ardens'' can be as large as . The solid, umbilicate shell has a depressed conic shape with a variable sculpture. Its color is quite variable, but usually is reddish or olive brown, with a subsutural series of short white flammules, a row of white spots on the periphery, the remainder of the surface sparsely punctate with 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 acute. The sutures are markedly canaliculate. The

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 (about 7) are convex and spirally lirate. Their interstices are obliquely regularly crispate-striate. The 5 or 6 lirae on the penultimate whorl are frequently grooved, and usually with lirulae between them. The base of the shell contains about 8 principal concentric lirae. The oblique

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 smooth within, but apparently sulcate. 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 ...

is subdentate in the middle. The

umbilicus Umbilicus may refer to: *The navel or belly button *Umbilicus (mollusc), a feature of gastropod, Nautilus and Ammonite shell anatomy *Umbilicus (plant), ''Umbilicus'' (plant), a genus of over ninety species of perennial flowering plants *Umbilicus ...

is funnel-shaped and is bordered by a white rib.Tryon (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
/ref>

Distribution and habitat

This common species occurs in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

in the seagrass prairies of ''

Posidonia oceanica ''Posidonia oceanica'', commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free ...

''; on the Atlantic coast of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

References

* Risso A., 1826-1827: ''Histoire naturelle des principales productions de l'Europe Méridionale et particulièrement de celles des environs de Nice et des Alpes Maritimes''; Paris, Levrault Vol. 1: XII + 448 + 1 carta 826 Vol. 2: VII + 482 + 8 pl. (fiori) ovembre 1827 Vol. 3: XVI + 480 + 14 pl. (pesci) ettembre 1827 Vol. 4: IV + 439 + 12 pl. (molluschi) ovembre 1826 Vol. 5: VIII + 400 + 10 pl. (altri invertebrati) ovembre 1827* Payraudeau B. C., 1826: ''Catalogue descriptif et méthodique des Annelides et des Mollusques de l'île de Corse'', Paris pp. 218 + 8 pl. * Adams A., 1851: ''An arrangement of Stomatellidae, including the characters of a new genus, and of several new species'', Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 18: 29-40 * Brusina S., 1866: ''Contribuzione pella fauna dei molluschi dalmati'', Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-königlichen Zoologisch-botanisch Gesellschaft in Wien 16: 1-134 * Monterosato T. A. (di), 1880: ''Notizie intorno ad alcune conchiglie delle coste d'Africa''; Bullettino della Società Malacologica Italiana, Pisa 5: 213–233. (1879) * Monterosato T. A. (di), 1884: ''Nomenclatura generica e specifica di alcune conchiglie mediterranee'' ; Palermo, Virzi pp. 152 * Monterosato T. A. (di), 1888-1889: ''Molluschi del Porto di Palermo. Specie e varietà'' ; Bullettino della Società Malacologica Italiana, Pisa 13 (1888 889?: 161-180 14 (1889): 75-81 * Pallary P., 1904-1906: ''Addition à la faune malacologique du Golfe de Gabès''; Journal de Conchyliologie 52: 212–248, pl. 7; 54: 77–124, pl. 4 * Pallary P., 1938: ''Les Mollusques marins de la Syrie'' ; Journal de Conchyliologie 82: 5-58, pl. 1-2 * Nordsieck F., 1972'': Marine Gastropoden as der Shiqmona-Bucht in Israël''; Archiv für Molluskenkunde 102(4-6): 227-245 *Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213

External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q3763978 ardens Gastropods described in 1793