''Rapa'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
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 ...
s,
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 ...
s 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 ...
Muricidae
Muricidae is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks, commonly known as murex snails or rock snails. With over 1,700 living species, the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neog ...
, the murex snails or rock snails.
Description
The thin shell is globosely pyriform with the axis perforate and the
umbilicus partly concealed by the reflected inner
lip
The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...
. The
spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...
is obtuse. 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 oblong, produced anteriorly into a wide subrecurved canal.
''Rapa'' differs from ''
Rapana'' not only in the produced canal of the aperture and thin simple whorls, but in the free, reflexed inner lip and moderate umbilicus.
Species
Species within the genus ''Rapa'' include:
* ''
Rapa bulbiformis''
G.B. Sowerby II, 1870
* ''
Rapa franzhuberi''
Thach, 2023
* ''
Rapa incurva''
(Dunker, 1852)
* ''
Rapa rapa''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
;Synonyms:
* ''Rapa bulbosa'': synonym of ''
Rapana rapiformis''
(Born, 1778)
* ''Rapa papyracea'' (Lamarck, 1822): synonym of ''Rapa rapa''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Rapa pellucida''
Röding, 1798: synonym of ''Rapa rapa''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Rapa penardi'' Montroux:
synonym of ''Rapa rapa''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Rapa striata''
Röding, 1798: synonym of ''Rapa rapa''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
* † ''Rapa supraplicata''
Conrad, 1858: synonym of †''
Gyrodes supraplicatus''
(Conrad, 1858) (basionym)
* ''Rapa tenuis''
H. Adams & A. Adams, 1858: synonym of ''Rapa rapa''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''Rapa volema''
Röding, 1798: synonym of ''
Rapana rapiformis''
(Born, 1778)
References
Coralliophilinae
{{Coralliophilinae-stub