''Leiocithara infulata'' is a species of

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 ...

, a 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 ...

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 ...

Mangeliidae Mangeliidae is a monophyletic family of small to medium-sized, predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. Bouchet, P. (2011). Mangeliidae P. Fischer, 1883. In: MolluscaBase (2016). Accessed through: World Regis ...

.WoRMS (2009). Leiocithara infulata (Hedley, 1909). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=434190 on 2017-08-02

Description

The length of the shell attains 3.5 mm, its diameter 1.7 mm. (Original description) The small shell is very solid, regularly biconical and sharply angled at the shoulder. Its colour is white, or pale buff with narrow bands of darker buff. It contains 5

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, including a

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 " ...

of two smooth rounded whorls. 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 ...

measures two-thirds of the shell's length.

Sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

: on the body- whorl are eight widely spaced thick and prominent vertical ribs radiating from the suture, and vanishing on the base. On the shoulder these are linked and overrun by a spiral cord of nearly equal calibre. This sculpture is repeated on the penultimate whorl, where the radials are smaller and closer. On the antepenultimate whorl the spiral cord degenerates, and the radials are closer, rounder, and more oblique. Apart from this, the shell has, in general, a smooth expression, but a few faint spirals mark the base, while still fainter scratches traverse the rest of the shell. 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 ...

is narrow, protected by a heavy outstanding

varix A varix (: varices) is an abnormally dilated blood vessel with a tortuous course. Varices usually occur in the venous system, but may also occur in arterial or lymphatic vessels. Examples of varices include: * Varicose veins, large tortuous veins ...

, anteriorly with a semicircular excavation, followed by a tubercle on either side. The

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 short, broad and effuse.Ch. Hedley (1909), Mollusca from the Hope Islands, north Queensland; Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales v. 34 p. 458

Distribution

This marine species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Australia and occurs off

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

References

External links

Hedley, C. 1922. A revision of the Australian Turridae. Records of the Australian Museum 13(6): 213–359, pls 42–56

Tucker, J.K. 2004 ''Catalog of recent and fossil turrids (Mollusca: Gastropoda)''. Zootaxa 682:1–1295

Kilburn R.N. 1992. Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 6. Subfamily Mangeliinae, section 1. Annals of the Natal Museum, 33: 461–575
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leiocithara Infulata infulata Gastropods described in 1909 Gastropods of Australia