''Tectus royanus'' 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
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* Marine biology
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* ...
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 Tegulidae
Tegulidae is a family of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Trochoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Bouchet, P. (2013). Tegulidae Kuroda, Habe & Oyama, 1971. Access ...
.
[Rosenberg, G. (2012). ''Tectus royanus''. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=592808 on 2012-09-01]
Description
The height of the shell attains 80 mm, its major diameter 97 mm. Dimensions of largest known shell 101 mm x 102 mm. The large, massive, imperforate shell has a pyramidal shape. In adult shells the upper surface is invariably covered with algae, coralline and other, while the base usually supports a colony of ''
Serpula''. The sculpture of these adult shells is scarcely distinguishable. Young shells, however, show the
sculpture. The
suture is well marked. The (more than 12)
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 floral ...
s are subscalar. 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 ...
is strongly keeled. The base of the shell is flat. The shell is covered with very low rounded nodules along the lower edge, there being about 15 at a distance of 2 cm. from the
apex, but sometimes they are so indistinct that they can scarcely be detected. The whole exterior is ornamented by close spiral beaded ribs, about 10 to a centimetre, crossed by diagonal growth lines, and covered with a white calcareous coating. The base is smooth save for diagonal growth lines on a white calcareous covering. But near the interior, where the coating is absent, it shows regular spiral threads, which are closest along the exterior margin. The colour of the shell is white, the interior pearly iridescent, with a well-marked white margin on the exterior of the thin, fragile outer
lip. The
aperture is quadrate and very oblique, the basal portion smooth inside. The
columella is pearly, anteriorly terminating in a solid tubercle, and ascending with a semicircular sweep. The thin
operculum is horny, multispiral with a central nucleus.
''Tectus royanus'' is allied to ''
Tectus pyramis''
(Born, 1778), an Indo-Pacific species, but differs in colour and in sculpture, which is much finer than that in ''T. pyramis''.
Iredale, ''New Generic Names and New Species of Marine Mollusca''; Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London v. 10 (1912-1913)
(described as ''Trochus royanus'')
Distribution
This marine species occurs off the Kermadec Islands from the low water mark to 29 m.
References
External links
World Register of Marine Species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3737056
royanus
Gastropods of New Zealand
Gastropods described in 1912