''Nassarius pumilio'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
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 ...
mollusc
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
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 ...
Nassariidae
The Nassariidae, Nassa mud snails (US), or dog whelks (UK) are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized snails, mostly marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda. These snails have rounded shells with a high spire, an oval ap ...
, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.
Description
The shell grows to a length of roughly 4 mm, though exact figures vary.
Distribution
This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off
Luanda
Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...
(Angola) and off
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...
.
References
* Marrat, F. (1877). On some proposed new forms in the genus Nassa. Liverpool, privately printed, 15 pp., 1 pl.
* Gofas, S.; Afonso, J.P.; Brandào, M. (Ed.). (S.a.). ''Conchas e Moluscos de Angola = Coquillages et Mollusques d'Angola.
hells and molluscs of Angola'. Universidade Agostinho / Elf Aquitaine Angola: Angola. 140 pp.
External links
Smith, E. A. (1872). A list of species of shells from West Africa, with descriptions of those hitherto undescribed. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1871: 727–739, pl. 75.Lamy, E. (1923). Mission du Comte Jean de Polignac et de M. Louis Gain (Campagne du Sylvana 1913): mollusques testacés. Comptes Rendus du Congrès des Sociétés Savantes (Paris). 1922: 22–37Cernohorsky W. O. (1984). ''Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum 14: 1–356Adam W. & Knudsen J. 1984. ''Révision des Nassariidae (Mollusca : Gastropoda Prosobranchia) de l’Afrique occidentale''. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 55(9): 1–95, 5 pl*
Endemic mollusca species of Angola
pumilio
Gastropods described in 1872
{{Nassariidae-stub