''Raphitoma alleryana'' 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 ...

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

Raphitomidae Raphitomidae is a family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.) (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". '' Malacologia'' 47(1-2). . 3 ...

.MolluscaBase (2019). MolluscaBase. Raphitoma alleryana (Sulliotti, 1889). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1301489 on 2019-12-04

Description

The length of the shell reaches a length of 10 mm. A shell with a minute, elegant fusiform shape, very distinct from its congeners through its sleek appearance produced by the rapidly growing in volume of its 6½ slightly convex

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, for the subtle reticulation and the low elevation of the ribs which gives it a pearly appearance, and finally for the softness of the shell and its golden-yellow to horny color.. The suture is impressed. The aperture is subovate with a simple outer lip with inconspicuous denticles. The short

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

is slightly inflected. 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 ...

shows a conspicuous white submedian band. The smooth apex has a bright, horny color. The columella is almost straight.Sulliotti G. R. (1889). Comunicazioni malacologiche I. Bullettino della Società Malacologica Italiana 14: 25-44

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Western Mediterranean Sea and off Italy and Portugal.

References

Sulliotti, G.R. (1889b) Comunicazioni malacologiche articolo secondo. Bullettino della Società Malacologica Italiana, 14, 65–74
* Giannuzzi-Savelli R., Pusateri F. & Bartolini S. (2018). A revision of the Mediterranean Raphitomidae (Gastropoda: Conoidea) 5: loss of planktotrophy and pairs of species, with the description of four new species. Bollettino Malacologico. 54, supplement 11: 1-77

External links

*
Biolib.cz: ''Raphitoma alleryana''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphitoma Alleryana alleryana Gastropods described in 1889