''Liotella vercoi'' is a
species of minute
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
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* ...
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 Skeneidae
The Skeneidae are a speciose family of minute to small marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Trochoidea.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2013). Skeneidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php ...
.
[Marshall, B. (2013). Liotella vercoi (Gatliff & Gabriel, 1914). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=720335 on 2013-10-29]
Description
The height of this poorly known shell attains 0.27 mm, its diameter 0.75 mm. The very minute, white, opaque shell consists of four
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).
Whorls in nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...
s, including the smooth, globular
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 has a discoidal shape with a sunken
spire and is widely umbilicated. It is ornamented with transverse riblets. On the
body whorl
The body whorl is part of the morphology of the 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.
In gastropods
In gastropods, the b ...
they number about 17. The intervening spaces are smooth, with the exception of a median spiral thread on the base. The
aperture is circular.
Gatliff & Gabriel (1914), On some new species of Victorian Marine Mollusca; Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria v. 27 (1914-1915)
(described as ''Cyclostrema vercoi'')
Distribution
This marine species is endemic to Australia and was dredged at Wilson's Promontory off Victoria.
References
* Iredale, T. & McMichael, D.F. (1962). ''A reference list of the marine Mollusca of New South Wales''. Memoirs of the Australian Museum. 11 : 1-109
External links
Museum of Victoria: ''Liotella vercoi''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16984632
vercoi
Gastropods of Australia
Gastropods described in 1914