Arene cruentata

Arene cruentata
Lateral view of shell and operculum of Arene cruentata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Trochida
Superfamily:	Trochoidea
Family:	Areneidae
Genus:	Arene
Species:	A. cruentata
Binomial name
Arene cruentata (Mühlfeld, 1824)
Synonyms [1]
Arene vanhyningiRehder, 1943 Trochus cruentatusMühlfeld, 1824

Arene cruentata is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Areneidae. ^[1]

Description

The shell can grow to be 6 mm to 16.5 mm in length. ^[2]

(Described as Arene vanhyningi) This shell is of medium size for the genus, characterized by its depressed-conical shape and four remaining whorls (the nuclear whorls are missing). The upper surface is a yellowish gray, contrasting with the stout, stellate peripheral keel, which is white. The underside (base) of the shell is generally grayish white.

The early whorls show some axially directed rose spots, which transition to straw brown and become much smaller on later whorls.

The shell features a conspicuous sutural canal and complex ornamentation:

The upper surface is obscurely axially rugose (wrinkled). These low, broad axial folds often form knobs right at the edge of the sutural channel. The channels between the keels are generally sculptured with fine axial threads. The periphery is defined by three prominent features that give the shell an Astraea Röding, 1798-like appearance. An acute keel is present at the periphery, bearing large, regular, triangular spines. These spines are hollow on the anterior side and increase in size toward the aperture. Just below this main keel is a narrow spiral cord with regular, small, low, anteriorly hollow scales. Below the middle cord is a minutely serrate keel.

The base is flattened below the lowest peripheral keel. The base proper is sculptured with four low, beaded cords. The narrow, deep umbilicus is entered by two broad cords.

The aperture is circular and slightly expanded, with an externally thickened lip. The interior displays a yellowish pearly luster. The operculum is multispiral, concave, and typical for the group, with its whorls ornamented by crowded, radially elongated, calcareous beads. ^[3]

Distribution

This species occurs in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

• 
  Apical view of shell
• 
  Umbilical view of shell, also showing operculum

References

1. Arene cruentata (Mühlfeld, 1824) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 5 October 2010.
2. "Arene cruentata". gastropods.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
3. Rehder, H.A. (1943). "New marine mollusks from the Antillean Region". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 93 (3161): 192. Retrieved 15 October 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Rosenberg, G.; Moretzsohn, F.; García, E. F. (2009). Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas
• Redfern, C. 2013. Bahamian Seashells: 1161 Species from Abaco, Bahamas. Bahamianseashells.com, Boca Raton, Florida. 501 pp.
• Turgeon, D., Quinn, J. F., Bogan, A. E., Coan, E. V., Hochberg, F. G., Lyons, W. G., Mikkelsen, P. M., Neves, R. J., Roper, C. F. E., Rosenberg, G., Roth, B., Scheltema, A., Thompson, F. G., Vecchione, M., Williams, J. D. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks. 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, 26. American Fisheries Society: Bethesda, MD (USA). ISBN 1-888569-01-8. IX, 526 + cd-rom pp.

External links

• Megerle von Mühlfeld, J.C. (1824). "Beschreibung einiger neuen Conchylien". erhandlungen der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin. 1 (4). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
• Malacolog info