''Spectamen plicatulum'' 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 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 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 ...

mollusk in the family

Solariellidae Solariellidae is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Trochoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Gofas, S. (2011). Solariellidae. Accessed through: World Register of ...

.Bouchet, P. (2012). ''Solariella plicatula'' (Murdoch & Suter, 1906). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=565333 on 2012-12-03

Description

The height of the shell attains 4 mm, its diameter 6 mm. This species differs from the characteristics of the genus in having the longitudinal plications upon the upper part of 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 ...

almost obsolete, and the two circumumbilical carinae are almost smooth.

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to New Zealand.

References

* Powell, A.W.B. 1979: ''New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells.'' Collins, Auckland 500p * Spencer, H.G.; Marshall, B.A.; Maxwell, P.A.; Grant-Mackie, J.A.; Stilwell, J.D.; Willan, R.C.; Campbell, H.J.; Crampton, J.S.; Henderson, R.A.; Bradshaw, M.A.; Waterhouse, J.B.; Pojeta, J. Jr (2009). ''Phylum Mollusca: chitons, clams, tusk shells, snails, squids, and kin'', in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 161–254.

External links

To Biodiversity Heritage Library (2 publications)

To World Register of Marine Species

B. Marshall (1999), ''A revision of the Recent Solariellinae (Gastropoda: Trochoidea) of the New Zealand region''. The Nautilus 113(1): 4-42
plicatulum Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1906 {{Solariellidae-stub