''Prisogaster niger'' is a species of

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

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 ...

mollusk in the family Turbinidae, the turban snails.

Description

"The size of the shell varies between 10 mm and 35 mm. The very solid, imperforate shell has an ovate shape.Its color pattern is deep dull purplish or bluish black. The short spire is convex and blunt. The 5-6 whorls are somewhat flattened below the sutures, with a superficial spiral line, and marked with light incremental striae. The large apertureis very oblique, ovate, silvery inside and rounded below. The outer lip is slightly fluted within. The white columella is wide and beas on its face a longitudinal rib which rises in the region of the umbilicus. The parietal wall is eroded, white, smooth, or with three white transverse

rugae In anatomy, rugae are a series of ridges produced by folding of the wall of an organ. Most commonly rugae refers to the gastric rugae of the internal surface of the stomach. Function A purpose of the gastric rugae is to allow for expansion of ...

. The oval operculum is concave within, buff, with 2-3 very rapidly increasing whorls. The nucleus measures one-fourth the distance across the face from the basal margin. The outer surface is white, very convex and obsoletely rugose."G.W. Tryon (1888), Manual of Conchology X; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; p. 219
(described as ''Turbo niger'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean from Peru to the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

References

* Alf A. & Kreipl K. (2011) ''The family Turbinidae. Subfamilies Turbininae Rafinesque, 1815 and Prisogasterinae Hickman & McLean, 1990''. In: G.T. Poppe & K. Groh (eds), A Conchological Iconography. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. pp. 1–82, pls 104–245.

External links

Gastropods.com: ''Prisogaster nigra''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7245715 niger Gastropods described in 1828