''Pyramidella hastata'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of sea snail, 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 Military * ...

gastropod

mollusk 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 es ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pyramidellidae Pyramidellidae, common name the pyram family, or pyramid shells, is a voluminous taxonomic family of mostly small and minute ectoparasitic sea snails, marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs. The great majority of species of pyrams are micr ...

, the pyrams and their allies.WoRMS (2011). ''Pyramidella hastata'' (A. Adams in Sowerby, 1854). Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=575942 on 2012-01-12Keen M. (1971). Sea shells of Tropical West America. Marine mollusks from Baja California to Perú. (2nd edit.). Stanford University Press pp. 1064

Description

The shining shell has a broadly elongate, conic shape. Its color is pale yellowish to flesh-color, irregularly clouded with light brown. The length of the shell measures 11.5 mm. (The whorls of 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 calle ...

are decollated). The (probably) fourteen

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 flo ...

s of the

teleoconch The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. So ...

are flattened. They are decidedly crenulated at their summits, with faint grooves extending from the base of the crenulations down and across the whorls giving them the appearance of being obsoletely ribbed. The sutures are deep and channeled. The periphery of the body whorl is angular, and deeply sulcate. This sulcus is more or less regularly closely transversely ribbed. The base of the shell is well rounded, axially striated. These striae extend to the

umbilical Umbilical may refer to: *Umbilical cable *Umbilical cord *Umbilical fold *Umbilical hernia *Umbilical notch *Umbilical vessels **Umbilical artery **Umbilical vein *Umbilical zone *The Umbilical Brothers, two Australian comedic performers, David a ...

region and over the posterior columellar fold. The basal fasciole is present. The entire surface is covered with microscopic spiral striations. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

is suboval, subchanneled at the junction of the outer lip and

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the ...

. The posterior angle is acute. The columella is straight and strong. The posterior fold is very strong, and lamellar slightly oblique. The anterior two are of about equal size and much more oblique than the posterior one. The inner surface of the outer lip is provided at intervals with five lirations, two posterior and three anterior to the peripheral sulcus.Dall & Bartsch, A Monograph of West American Pyramidellid Mollusks, United States National Museum Bulletin 68, p. 25-26: 1909
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Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Pacific Ocean off

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and off the Galapagos Islands.

References

External links

World Register of Marine Species
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7263319 Pyramidellidae Gastropods described in 1854