''Hormospira'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s, 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 ...

s 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 ...

Pseudomelatomidae Pseudomelatomidae is a family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropods included in the superfamily Conoidea (previously Conacea) and part of the Neogastropoda (Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005), Bouchet & Ro ...

, containing the single species ''Hormospira maculosa''.

Description

The length of the shell attains 50 mm its diameter 13 mm. The shell is smooth, or with light revolving striae. The shoulder of 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 are angulated and defined by a row of tubercles. The shell is flesh-colored, light brown, or light purplish, with chestnut maculations.G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences

Distribution

This marine species occurs off

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

References

External links

*
Bouchet, P.; Kantor, Y. I.; Sysoev, A.; Puillandre, N. (2011). ''A new operational classification of the Conoidea (Gastropoda).'' Journal of Molluscan Studies. 77(3): 273–308
* Abbott R. T. (1974). ''American seashells. The marine Mollusca of the Atlantic and Pacific coast of North America. ed. 2''. Van Nostrand, New York. 663 pp., 24 pls. * Kantor Yu.I. (1988) ''On the anatomy of Pseudomelatominae (Gastropoda, Toxoglossa, Turridae) with notes on functional morphology and phylogeny of the subfamily''. Apex 3(1): 1–19 Pseudomelatomidae Monotypic gastropod genera Gastropods described in 1834 Taxa named by George Brettingham Sowerby I {{Pseudomelatomidae-stub