Bela nebula

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Nebular needle conch
Bela nebula 003.jpg
Shell of Bela nebula (specimen at the Smithsonian Institution)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Mangeliidae
Genus: Bela
Species:
B. nebula
Binomial name
Bela nebula
(Montagu, 1803)
Synonyms [1]
  • Bela aegeensis(Reeve, 1844) [2]
  • Bela ginniana(Risso, 1826) [2]
  • Bela nebula vittataNorman, A.M., 1899
  • Bela septenvillei(Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913)
  • Bela (Ischnula) nebula(Montagu, 1803)
  • Buccinum steveniKrynicky, 1837 (dubious synonym)
  • Fusus discrepansBrown, C.T., 1827
  • Fusus pyramidatusBrown, C.T., 1827
  • Mangelia (Bela) nebula(Montagu)
  • Mangelia nebula(Montagu, 1803)
  • Mangelia nebula var. lacteaJeffreys, 1867
  • Murex nebula Montagu, 1803 (original combination)
  • Pleurotoma metcalfeiPetit de la Saussaye, S., 1869
  • Pleurotoma nebula(Montagu, 1803)
  • Pleurotoma nebula var. abbreviataJeffreys, 1867
  • Pleurotoma nebula var. elongataJeffreys, 1867
  • Pleurotoma nebula var. abbreviata(Montagu, 1803)
  • Pleurotoma nebula var. minorJeffreys, 1867
  • Pleurotoma nigraPotiez, V.L.V., 1838
  • Raphitoma affineLocard, E.A.A., 1891
  • Raphitoma nebula(Montagu, 1803)
  • Raphitoma nebula var. septenvilleiDautzenberg, 1913
  • Raphitoma septenvilleiDautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913

Bela nebula, also known as the nebular needle conch is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mangeliidae. [1] It is the type species of the genus Bela.

Contents

Taxonomy

Bela nebula forms probably a complex, to which Bela laevigata also belongs (Ankel 1936, Van Aartsen et al. 1984) [3] [4]

Description

The shell size varies between 5 mm and 14 mm, characteristic of the Bela genus, with three or four initially smooth protoconch whorls, except for the last, which features low, curved axial riblets overrun by a few rows of obsolete spiral elements, which form swollen tubercles at the intersection. [5] The shell consists of eight or nine tumid whorls, with deep sutures. The subsutural band is often beaded. The shell shows strong, slightly curved ribs and narrow, spiral ridges and growth lines. The numerous ridges are finely beaded. The subsutural band is slightly swollen. The aperture of the shell is lanceolate and elongated, with a thin outer lip that becomes angular where it meets the body whorl. There is an anal sinus and a short, wide siphonal canal. [6]

The colour of the shell is variable and goes from white to yellowish brown and orange.

The species breeds in spring and summer, depositing eggs in lenticular capsules.

Distribution

This species occurs on sand and muddy gravel bottoms in European waters off Belgium and the British Isles, in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean off Norway, in the Atlantic Ocean off Spain, Portugal, the Azores and Madeira and in the Mediterranean Sea

References

  1. 1 2 Bela nebula (Montagu, 1803) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 8 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 B. Otztürk, Comments on Shells of Mollusca collected from the Seas of Turkey, Turk J Zool, 29, pp. 111-112, 2005 Archived November 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine ; accessed : 20 February 2011
  3. ↑ Ankel, Wulf Emmo. Prosobranchia. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1936.
  4. ↑ Aartsen, JJ van, H. P. M. G. Menkhorst, and E. Gittenberger. "The marine Mollusca of the Bay of Algeciras, Spain, with general notes on Mitrella, Marginellidae and Turridae." Basteria (ISSN 0005-6219)(Suppl. 2 (1984).
  5. ↑ "Bela nebula (Montagu, 1803)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  6. ↑ P.J. Hayward and J.S. Ryland - Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe; Oxford University Press 1995; ISBN 0 19 854054 X
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