''Scaphella'' 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 large
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
Volutidae
Volutidae, common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm. They are marine gastropod mollusks. Most of the species have no operculum.
Distribution
This family of sea s ...
, the volutes.
Distribution
This is a tropical genus occurring in the Western
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
and the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
.
Description
There are both living and fossil species in this genus, which first appeared in the
Paleocene
The Paleocene ( ), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), ...
. The fusiform, patterned shell is small to large. 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 called " ...
is smooth and papilliform, often with a calcarella. The
columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire.
His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...
r plates are weak or absent. The
periostracum
The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods an ...
is present, but an
operculum is not. The
radula
The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...
is small, and variable from Y-shaped to tricuspid.
(Described as ''Aurinia'') The shell is ovately fusiform. 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 ...
has a mamillated apex. The
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).
In nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagra ...
s are transversely finely striated and longitudinally subplicate. The folds of the
columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire.
His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...
are obsolete. The outer
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 ...
is thin and simple.
Adams, H. & Adams, A. (1853-1858). The genera of Recent Mollusca; arranged according to their organization. London, van Voorst. Vol. 1: xl + 484 pp.; vol. 2: 661 pp.; vol. 3: 138 pls
/ref>
Species
Species within the genus ''Scaphella'' include:Scaphella junonia
''Scaphella junonia'', common names the junonia, or Juno's volute, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutidae, the volutes.
This species lives in water from 29 m to 126 m depth in the tropical Wester ...
'' (Lamarck, 1804) - type species
* † '' Scaphella kendrae'' Petuch & Berschauer, 2021
* '' Scaphella luizcoutoi'' Coltro, 1998
* '' Scaphella macginnorum'' García & Emerson, 1987
* † ''Scaphella macrocephala
''Scaphella'' is a genus of large sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the family Volutidae, the volutes.
Distribution
This is a tropical genus occurring in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Description
There ...
'' Finlay, 1927
* † '' Scaphella martinshugari'' Petuch, 1994
* '' Scaphella matchetti'' Petuch & Sargent, 2011
* '' Scaphella neptunia'' (Clench & Aguayo, 1940)
* '' Scaphella robusta'' Dall, 1889
* '' Scaphella stimpsonorum'' T. Cossignani & Allary, 2019
;Species brought into synonymy:
* ''Scaphella benthalis'' Dall, 1896: synonym of '' Arctomelon benthale'' (Dall, 1896)
* ''Scaphella butleri'' Clench, 1953: synonym of ''Scaphella junonia butleri'' Clench, 1953
* ''Scaphella carlae'' Landau & C. M. Silva, 2006 †: synonym of '' Euroscaphella carlae'' (Landau & C. M. Silva, 2006) †
* ''Scaphella caroli'' Iredale, 1924: synonym of '' Amoria maculata'' (Swainson, 1822)
* ''Scaphella cognata'' Finlay, 1926 †: synonym of '' Teremelon cognata'' (Finlay, 1926) †
* ''Scaphella dannevigi'' Verco, 1912: synonym of '' Livonia nodiplicata'' (Cox, 1910)
* ''Scaphella elegantissima'' Suter, 1917 †: synonym of '' Teremelon elegantissima'' (Suter, 1917) † (original combination)
* ''Scaphella florida'' (Clench & Aguayo, 1940): synonym of ''Scaphella dohrni'' (G. B. Sowerby III, 1903)
* ''Scaphella hedleyi'' Iredale, 1914: synonym of ''Amoria (Amoria) damoni'' Gray, 1864 represented as '' Amoria damoni'' Gray, 1864
* ''Scaphella honi'' Glibert, 1938 †: synonym of '' Euroscaphella honi'' (Glibert, 1938) †
* ''Scaphella johnstoneae'' Clench, 1953: synonym of ''Scaphella junonia'' (Lamarck, 1804)
* ''Scaphella lamberti'' (J. Sowerby, 1816) †: synonym of '' Euroscaphella lamberti'' (J. Sowerby, 1816) †
* ''Scaphella lautenschlageri'' Volobueva, 1981 †: synonym of '' Arctomelon lautenschlageri'' (Volobueva, 1981) † (original combination)
* ''Scaphella marionae'' (Pilsbry & Olsson, 1953): synonym of ''Scaphella robusta marionae'' (Pilsbry & Olsson, 1953)
* ''Scaphella moslemica'' Hedley, 1912: synonym of '' Amoria undulata'' (Lamarck, 1804)
* ''Scaphella papillaris'' Swainson, 1840: synonym of ''Ericusa papillosa
''Ericusa papillosa'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Volutidae
Volutidae, common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm. They ar ...
'' (Swainson, 1822)
* ''Scaphella pretiosa'' Finlay, 1926 †: synonym of '' Teremelon pretiosa'' (Finlay, 1926) †
* ''Scaphella tumidior'' Finlay, 1926 †: synonym of '' Teremelon tumidior'' (Finlay, 1926) †
* ''Scaphella veliocassina'' Pacaud & Meyer, 2014 †: synonym of '' Euroscaphella veliocassina'' (Pacaud & Meyer, 2014) †
* ''Scaphella victoriensis'' Cossmann, 1899 †: synonym of '' Notopeplum politum'' (Tate, 1889) † (unnecessary replacement name for ''Voluta polita'' Tate, 1889, erroneously stated by Cossmann to be a junior homonym of ''Voluta polita'' )
* ''Scaphella vignyensis'' Chavan, 1949 †: synonym of '' Euroscaphella vignyensis'' (Chavan, 1949) †
* ''Scaphella volvestrensis'' Villatte, 1962 †: synonym of '' Euroscaphella volvestrensis'' (Villatte, 1962) †
* ''Scaphella worki'' Coltro J., 1998: synonym of '' Scaphella robusta marionae'' (Pilsbry & Olsson, 1953)
References
* Bail, P & Poppe, G. T. 2001. ''A conchological iconography: a taxonomic introduction of the recent Volutidae''. Hackenheim-Conchbook, 30 pp, 5 pl.
* Petuch E.J. & Sargent D.M. (2011) Rare and unusual shells of the Florida Keys and adjacent areas. Wellington, Florida: MdM Publishing. 158 pp.
External links
Swainson W. (1829-1833). Zoological Illustrations, or original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals, selected chiefly from the classes of ornithology, entomology, and conchology, and arranged according to their apparent affinities. Second series. London: Baldwin & Cradock. (Vol. 1-3): pl. 1-30
Dall, W. H. (1906). Note on some names in the Volutidae. The Nautilus. 19(12): 143-144
Pilsbry, H. A. & Olsson, A. A. (1953). Materials for a revision of East Coast and Floridan Volutes. The Nautilus. 67 (1): 1-13.
Adams, H. & Adams, A. (1853-1858). The genera of Recent Mollusca; arranged according to their organization. London, van Voorst. Vol. 1: xl + 484 pp.; vol. 2: 661 pp.; vol. 3: 138 pls
Dall, W. H. (1906). Note on some names in the Volutidae. The Nautilus. 19(12): 143-144
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3142682
Volutidae
Extant Paleocene first appearances