Crassispira elatior

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Crassispira elatior
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Caenogastropoda
Clade: Hypsogastropoda
Clade: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Conoidea
Family: Pseudomelatomidae
Genus: Crassispira
Species:
C. elatior
Binomial name
Crassispira elatior
(C. B. Adams, 1845)
Synonyms [1]
  • Crassispira adamsiDe Jong & Coomans, 1988(Unnecessary replacement name for Pleurotoma elatior C.B. Adams, 1845, believed to be preoccupied by P. elatior d'Orbigny, "1842" [in fact 1847])
  • Pleurotoma elatiorC. B. Adams, 1845 (basionym)

Crassispira elatior is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae. [1]

In biology, a species is the basic unit of 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 the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined.

Sea snail common name for snails that normally live in saltwater

Sea snail is a common name for slow moving marine gastropod molluscs usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the absence of a visible shell.

Family is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as being the "walnut family".

Contents

Description

The length of the shell attains 5 mm, its diameter 2 mm.

The small, subconical shell contains 6 whorls. It has a whitish color with orange brown brands interrupted by the ribs. The whorls are convex and show 12 not very robust ribs and rather shallow decurrent spirals (on the penultimate whorl 19 ribs and 3 to 4 spirals). The sinus is deep. The outer lip shows a slight varix. The siphonal canal is very short. [2]

Whorl (mollusc)

A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the ammonites.

Lip (gastropod)

In the shell of gastropod mollusks, the lip is the free margin of the peristome or aperture of the gastropod shell.

Varix (mollusc) mollusk

A varix is an anatomical feature of the shell of certain sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs. Gastropods whose shells have varices are primarily families and species within the taxonomic groups Littorinimorpha and Neogastropoda.

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Caribbean Sea off Jamaica, Guadeloupe and St. Martin

Jamaica Country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola ; the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some 215 kilometres (134 mi) to the north-west.

Guadeloupe Overseas region and department in France

Guadeloupe is an archipelago forming an overseas region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes, as well as many uninhabited islands and outcroppings. It lies south of Antigua and Barbuda and Montserrat, and north of Dominica. Its capital is Basse-Terre on the west coast; however, the largest city is Pointe-à-Pitre.

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References

  1. 1 2 Rosenberg, G. (2010). Crassispira elatior (C. B. Adams, 1845). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=532672 on 2012-07-08
  2. C.B. Adams, Specierum novarum conchyliorum, in Jamaica repertorum, synopsis; Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History.v. 2 (1845-1848)