''Raphitoma laviae'' 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 gastropod mollusc 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 ...

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 ...

Description

The length of the shell varies between 5 mm and 15 mm. 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 ...

is multispiral. (Original description) The reddish-brown shell has an oblong-fusiform shape. The six

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 show about 20 pronounced axial ribs, crossed by transverse riblets (about 5 in the upper whorls) forming a latticed structure. 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 oblong and is somewhat smaller than half the length of the shell. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is incrassate and notched within. Philippi R.A. (1844). Enumeratio molluscorum Siciliae cum viventium tum in tellure tertiaria fossilium, quae in itinere suo observavit. Vol. 2. Halle [Halis Saxorum
Eduard Anton. iv + 303 pp., pls 13-28]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Western and Central Mediterranean Sea.

References

* 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 * Hoarau A. & Horst D. (2020). Les genres Cyrillia, Leufroyia & Raphitoma vivants de Méditerranée française. AFC, Paris, and ConchBooks, Hackenheim, 98 pp.

External links

Philippi R.A. (1844) - Bemerkungen über die Molluskenfauna Unter-Italiens; Archiv für Naturgeschichte. vol. 10 (1)
*
Gastropods.com: ''Raphitoma laviae''

Biolib.cz: ''Raphitoma laviae''

Russini, V.; Giannuzzi-Savelli, R.; Pusateri, F.; Prkic, J.; Fassio, G.; Modica, M. V.; Oliverio, M. (2020). Candidate cases of poecilogony in Neogastropoda: implications for the systematics of the genus Raphitoma Bellardi, 1847. Invertebrate Systematics. 34: 293–318
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raphitoma Laviae laviae Gastropods described in 1844