''Turbo cidaris'', common name the crown turban, 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 ...

, marine

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 Turbinidae. Some authors place the name in the subgenus ''Turbo (Sarmaticus)'' ;Subspecies: * ''Turbo cidaris cidaris'' Gmelin, 1791 * ''Turbo cidaris natalensis'' (Krauss, 1848) (synonyms: ''Turbo natalensis'' Krauss, 1848; ''Turbo natalensis'' var. ''unicolor'' Turton, 1932)

Description

The length of the shell varies between 25 mm and 60 mm. The imperforate, smooth and polished shell has a depressed, heliciform shape. Its color pattern is reddish, brown or yellow, usually flammulated above, variously marked below, with white. The spire is short and contains 5–6

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. The upper ones are bicarinate, the last often considerably descending, and rounded. The aperture is circular, oblique, and white within, rounded below. The wide columella is callous, and is excavated at the umbilical region. The operculum is slightly concave inside, with six whorls and a subcentral apex. The outer surface is sharply granulate, white, convex, spiral, with a central pit.G.W. Tryon (1888), Manual of Conchology X; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
(described as ''Turbo (Ocana) cidaris'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Mozambique and South Africa. It has also been found off Angola and Indonesia.

References

* Kilburn, R.N. (1974) ''Taxonomic notes on South African marine Mollusca (3): Gastropoda: Prosobranchia, with descriptions of new taxa of Naticidae, Fasciolariidae, Magilidae, Volutomitridae and Turridae.'' Annals of the Natal Museum, 22, 187–220. * Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) ''Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Beached Shells.'' Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 26
Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). ''Two Oceans.'' 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg
* Alf A. & Kreipl K. (2003). A Conchological Iconography: The Family Turbinidae, Subfamily Turbininae, Genus Turbo. Conchbooks, Hackenheim Germany. * Williams, S.T. (2007). ''Origins and diversification of Indo-West Pacific marine fauna: evolutionary history and biogeography of turban shells (Gastropoda, Turbinidae).'' Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 92, 573–592.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7853833

cidaris ''Cidaris'' is a genus of pencil sea urchins. Species According to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), the genus Cidaris contains the following extant species *'' Cidaris abyssicola'' ( Agassiz, 1869) *'' Cidaris annulata'' (Gray, ...

Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin