''Turris proesignis'' 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 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 ...

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 ...

Turridae Turridae is a taxonomic family name for a number of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. MolluscaBase (2018). Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Specie ...

, the turrids.

Description

The length of the shell attains 42 mm; its maximum diameter: 15 mm. The prominent row of tubercles around the middle of the

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 flo ...

s, the keel beneath the suture, and the broad sinus in the outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

are the principal features of this species. The apex of the

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 ...

is broken. This makes it impossible to state with certainty the exact number of whorls, but they would probably amount to eleven or twelve. The entire surface exhibits fine flexuous lines of growth.Smith, E.A., 1895. Natural History Notes from H.M. Indian Marine Survey Steamer 'Investigator' , Commander C.F. Oldham, R.N.- Series 2. No. 19. Report upon some Mollusca dredged in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea during the season 1893-94.. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6 16:1-19, plates 1, 2.
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Distribution

This bathypelagic species occurs off

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turris Proesignis proesignis Gastropods described in 1895