Ancillina

Ancillina Temporal range: Paleocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Ancillariidae
Genus:	Ancillina Bellardi, 1882
Type species
† Ancillaria papillataTate, 1889
Synonyms [1]
Ancilla (Ancillina)Bellardi, 1882 · GracilancillaThiele, 1925

Ancillina is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Ancillariidae. ^[1]

Description

(Original description in French) The shell is very small and narrow, tapering to a point. Its spire is slightly elongated with a conical curve, especially at the apex, and is covered by a glossy callus.

The protoconch is slightly stepped, with a small, prominent nucleus. The whorls grow quickly, and their sutures are barely visible beneath the glaze. The body whorl is very large, ovoid-conical, and rounded at its base. It has an unglazed area that covers about half of its height. A fine groove separates this area from the base, which is thick and divided into two very different-sized sections.

The aperture is very short, oval, and slightly angular, with no posterior groove. It widens at the front and ends abruptly with a shallow basal notch. The outer lip is thin and straight, barely curving back at the suture.

The columella is slightly curved inward and is twisted very obliquely at its front end. It has a narrow, flat fold that shows no signs of creasing. The columellar margin is quite wide and thick, particularly in the lower corner, where the thickness extends halfway up the second-to-body whorl. ^[2]

Species

Species within the genus Ancillina include:

• Ancillina apicalis (Kay, 1979)
• † Ancillina butonensis (Beets, 1942)
• † Ancillina iwaensis MacNeil, 1961
• † Ancillina kakano P. A. Maxwell, 1978
• Ancillina lindae (Petuch, 1987)
• † Ancillina pusilla (T. Fuchs, 1877)
• Ancillina sumatrana (Thiele, 1925)
• † Ancillina wellmani P. A. Maxwell, 1978

References

1. Ancillina Bellardi, 1882 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 11 June 2012.
2. Cossmann, M. (1895–1924). Essais de paléoconchologie comparée (part 1 - part 13 ed.). Paris: published by the authors. Retrieved 12 August 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Lozouet P. (1992) New Pliocene and Oligocene Olividae (Mollusca, Gastropoda) from France and the Mediterranean area. Contributions to Tertiary and Quaternary Geology 29(1-2): 27-37

External links

• Bellardi, L. (1882). I molluschi dei terreni terziarii del Piemonte e della Liguria. Parte III. Gasteropoda (Buccinidae, Cyclopsidae, Purpuridae, Coralliophilidae, Olividae). Roma, Torino, Firenze: Ermanno Loescher. p. 436.

• Thiele, J. (1925). Gastropoden der Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition. II Teil. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition auf dem Dampfer "Valdivia" 1898-1899. 17(2)