''Halystina umberlee'' is a species of very small deep-water

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 Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

in the family

Seguenziidae Seguenziidae is a family of very small deepwater sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Seguenzioidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Bouchet, P. (2012). Seguenziidae. Accessed through ...

Taxonomy

''Halystina umberlee'' belongs in the genus ''

Halystina ''Halystina'' is a genus of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Seguenziinae of the family (biology), family Seguenziidae. Species Species within the genus ''Halystina'' include: *''Halystina caledonica'' Mar ...

'', a group of small-sized sea snails with a rounded shell profile, flat-sided whorls and finely granulate

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

. It is considered to resemble species in the genus ''

Halystes ''Halystes'' is a genus of extremely small deep water sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Seguenziidae Seguenziidae is a family of very small deepwater sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Seguenzioide ...

'', differing only by its much smaller size. It was named after Umberlee, a fictional goddess from the

Faerûnian pantheon This is a list of deities of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', including all of the 3.5 edition gods and powers of the "Core Setting" for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') roleplaying game. Religion is a key element of the D&D game, since it is requi ...

of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

Description

''Halystina umberlee'' is a very small species, barely reaching a shell height of 2 mm. It has a rounded, conic to turbinate shell, with relatively thick walls and up to 5 whorls. Its bulbous

consists of a single whorl with a pitted surface, and the protoconch-teleoconch transition is marked by a thin line. The teleoconch has 4 convex whorls, sculptured by delicate spiral cordlets crossed by axial threads, forming a delicate net-like pattern. The axial threads form an overall continuous sigmoid pattern along the shell's longitudinal axis, and the spiral sculpture becomes gradually weaker toward the basal region of last whorl. The basal part of the shell is sculptured by 10-12 spiral cords, but the

umbilical Umbilical may refer to: *Umbilical cable *Umbilical cord *Umbilical fold *Umbilical hernia *Umbilical notch *Umbilical vessels **Umbilical artery **Umbilical vein *Umbilical zone *The Umbilical Brothers, two Australian comedic performers, David a ...

region is smooth, with a well-marked margin. The aperture is quadrangular, and bears three deep sinuses. The shell is colored glossy white, with a

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...

ous shade.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off southeastern Brazil, from Espírito Santo to Rio de Janeiro, at 950–1550 m depths.

References

{{Commonscat Halystina Gastropods described in 2014