''Zafra fuscolineata'' 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), ...

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 ...

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 ...

Columbellidae The Columbellidae, the dove snails or dove shells, are a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the order Neogastropoda.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Columbellidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marin ...

, the dove snails.MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Zafra fuscolineata W. R. B. Oliver, 1915. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=511609 on 2023-10-07

Description

The length of the shell varies between 2 mm to 5 mm; diameter 1 mm. (Original description) The shell is broadly fusiform and truncate in front. The

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 ...

is obtuse. The shell contains five flatly rounded

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. The suture is impressed. The oblong

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 slightly produced in front. The outer edge is nearly straight. The inner edge is angled above. The shallow outer

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 ...

is thin with a sinus at the suture. The inner lip is thickened and straight below. The short

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water i ...

is wide.

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 ...

: the smooth

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 " ...

consists of 1½ whorls. The adult whorls show low, slightly oblique, axial ridges; about 15 on the penultimate whorl and become obsolete on 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 concave interstices are very shallow. The base of the shell shows oblique grooves. Over the whole shell appear under the microscope fine close spiral striae. Colour: The protoconch is white with a spiral brown band in the suture. The remainder of the shell is creamy white with a white peripheral band and light-brown spiral lines.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the

Kermadec Islands The Kermadec Islands ( ; ) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total area and uninhabit ...

, New Zealand

References

* Oliver W. R. (1915). Mollusca of the Kermadec Isl. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 47: 509-568

External links

Oliver W. R. (1915). Mollusca of the Kermadec Isl. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. 47: 509-568
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3738891 fuscolineata Gastropods described in 1915 Gastropods of New Zealand