''Iredalea'' is a small

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 ...

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 ...

Drilliidae The Drilliidae are a taxonomic family of small predatory sea snails with high-spired shells. They are classified as marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. This family has no subfamilies. It consists of about 30 genera and approx ...

. This genus was named in 1915 by

Walter Oliver Walter Reginald Brook Oliver (7 September 1883 – 16 May 1957) was a New Zealand naturalist, ornithologist, malacologist, and museum curator. Biography Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Oliver emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1896, se ...

after

Tom Iredale Tom Iredale (24 March 1880 – 12 April 1972) was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an Autodidacticism, autodidact who never went to university ...

(1880–1972), an English-born naturalist who lived mainly in Australia.Oliver, W.R.B. (1915) The Mollusca of the Kermadec Islands. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, 47, 509–568, pls. 9–12
/ref> Fossil species have been found in

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and in

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

strata of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

; age range: 5.332 to 2.588 Ma.

Description

The narrow, solid and turreted shell has a fusiform shape. The

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 " ...

consists of 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, with a sinusigera

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 ...

. The shell is axially sculptured by numerous slender and continuous riblets. 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 ...

measures about a third of the length of the shell. The short

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 ...

is wide. The anal sinus is deep and broad, separated from the

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk ...

by a callosity. A brown band on the periphery is a usual feature.

Species

Species within the genus ''Iredalea'' include: * ''

Iredalea adenensis ''Iredalea adenensis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Drilliidae.Bouchet, P. (2015). Iredalea adenensis Morassi & Bonfitto, 2013. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...

'' Morassi & Bonfitto, 2013 * ''

Iredalea agatho ''Iredalea agatho'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae The Drilliidae are a taxonomic family of small predatory sea snails with high-spired shells. They are classified as marine gastropod mollusks ...

'' (W.H. Dall, 1918) * ''

Iredalea balteata ''Iredalea balteata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. This species was first described by Augustus Addison Gould in 1860, who was an American malacologist. Description The length of the shell att ...

'' (A.A. Gould, 1860) * ''

Iredalea exilis ''Iredalea exilis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Iredalea exilis (Pease, 1868). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinesp ...

'' (Pease, 1868) * ''

Iredalea inclinata ''Iredalea inclinata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. Description The size of an adult shell is moderately large and varies between 16 mm and 25 mm. The 9 teleoconch whorls contain 12� ...

'' (Sowerby III, 1893) * ''

Iredalea macleayi ''Iredalea macleayi'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. Description Distribution This species occurs in the demersal zone off Queensland, Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia Indonesia, off ...

'' (Brazier, 1876) * ''

Iredalea pupoidea ''Iredalea pupoidea'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae.Bouchet, P. (2015). Iredalea pupoidea (H. Adams, 1872). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://ww ...

'' (H. Adams, 1872) * ''

Iredalea pygmaea ''Iredalea pygmaea'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Iredalea pygmaea (Dunker, 1860). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marin ...

'' (Dunker, 1860) * ''

Iredalea subtropicalis ''Iredalea subtropicalis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Drilliidae. Description The length of an adult shell varies between 4.5 mm and 6 mm; its diameter 2.2 mm. (Original ...

'' Oliver, 1915 * ''

Iredalea thalycra ''Iredalea thalycra'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. Description The length of the shell attains 6 mm, its diameter 1.75 mm. A small brightly banded shell. Its colour is white, banded ...

'' (J.C. Melvill & R. Standen, 1896) * ''

Iredalea theoteles ''Iredalea theoteles'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae.Bouchet, P. (2015). Iredalea theoteles (Melvill & Standen, 1896). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species a ...

'' (Melvill & Standen, 1896) ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Iredalea acuminata'' (J.W. Mighels, 1848): synonym of '' Pyrgocythara mighelsi'' (Kay, 1979) * ''Iredalea ella'' (Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932): synonym of ''

Brephodrillia ella ''Brephodrillia ella'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. Description Distribution This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean between Nicaragua and Panama Panama, officially the Republic of P ...

'' Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932 * ''Iredalea (Brephodrillia) perfecta'' (Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932): synonym of ''

Brephodrillia perfectus ''Brephodrillia perfectus'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. Description The shell grows to a length of 6 mm. Distribution This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and P ...

'' Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932

References

* Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca''. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp. * Bouchet P., Kantor Yu.I., Sysoev A. & Puillandre N. (2011) ''A new operational classification of the Conoidea''. Journal of Molluscan Studies 77: 273-308

External links

Oliver W.R.B. (1915) ''The Mollusca of the Kermadec Islands''. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, 47, 509–568, pls. 9–12

Biodiversity Library: ''Iredalea''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3169527 Gastropod genera