''Trochus camelophorus'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of small

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 ...

, a 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 ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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.; Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2014). Trochus camelophorus Webster, 1906. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=598209 on 2014-06-12

Description

The height of the shell attains 11 mm, its diameter 12 mm. The solid, false-umbilicate, pink shell has a conical shape. Its

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

shows rounded cinguli of unequal thickness, with rope-like markings, 5 to 6 on the penultimate whorl. Regular radiate riblets cross the cinguli. slightly beading or granulating them. The base of the shell contains 5 to 6 flat spiral ribs, separated by slightly narrower furrows The whole is ornamented with close and fine radiate striae. The colour of the shell is rose, with darker markings above the periphery of the

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology (biology), morphology of the gastropod shell, 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 ...

. The base is yellowish-white, with radiate stripes and spots of light brown. The conical

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 rounded

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

. 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 " ...

contains two

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 with traces of a spiral sculpture. The five whorls of the

teleoconch The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium ...

are slightly shouldered above, flat, the last one sharply angled at the periphery. The suture is marked by a deep groove behind the first roping of succeeding whorl. The

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

is subquadrangular, inside slightly pearly.. The outer and basal

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 ...

are slightly convex, forming an acute angle at their junction. 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 ...

is slightly oblique, with a distinct fold above, rounded, and smooth. The false umbilicus is not very deep, and has a strong spiral fold, which is sometimes distinctly grooved, thus having the appearance of two spiral ribs lying close together. Suter H. (1913-1915), Manual of New Zealand Mollusca; Wellington, N. Z. :J. Mackay, govt. printer,1913-1915
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Distribution

This marine species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to New Zealand, known from the northern end of

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

References

* Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 * Marshall B.A. 1998. ''A review of the Recent Trochini of New Zealand (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Trochidae).'' Molluscan Research 19(1): 73-106 {{Taxonbar, from=Q10749204 camelophorus Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1906