''Stomatella terminalis'', common name the pointed false ear, 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 very small sea snail, a marine gastropod

mollusk 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 es ...

micromollusk A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also ...

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 ...

Trochidae The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles ...

, the top snails.Marshall, B. (2013). Stomatella terminalis (Verco, 1905). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=718915 on 2014-04-06

Description

(Original description by

Joseph Verco Sir Joseph Cooke Verco (1 August 1851 – 26 July 1933) was an Australian physician and conchologist. Early years Verco, born at Fullarton, South Australia, was a son of James Crabb Verco. Both his parents came from Cornwall, UK. He was ...

) The height of the shell is 5.75 mm, its diameter 3 mm. The minute, thin shell has an oblong-oval shape with parallel sides parallel. The shell contains four

whorls 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 floral d ...

and an inconspicuous, terminal

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. Spires are ...

. Its surface is smooth and polished but for microscopic accremental lines. There are no spiral striae or incisions, except microscopic, on the base of the body whorl. Its colour is white, with crowded spiral bands of crescentic white and dark and reddish-brown spots and blotches. The radula has the following formula: ~ 1 (5.1.5).1 .~ 36 rows. The ornament varies greatly. The shell may be blotched pink and white, and there may be numerous fine spiral, hair-like, dark lines. It was formerly ''Gena terminalis''. Verco, J.C. 1905. Notes on South Australian marine Mollusca with descriptions of new species. Part II.; Transactions and proceedings and report of the Royal Society of South Australia, v. 29, p. 1661905
/ref>

Distribution

This marine species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Australia and occurs off

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

References

* Cotton, B.C. 1959. ''South Australian Mollusca. Archaeogastropoda''. Handbook of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia. Adelaide : South Australian Government Printer 449 pp * Wilson, B. 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stomatella Terminalis terminalis Gastropods of Australia Gastropods described in 1905