Drillia caffra

Drillia caffra
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Drilliidae
Genus:	Drillia
Species:	D. caffra
Binomial name
Drillia caffra (Smith E. A., 1882) [1]
Synonyms [2]
Austrodrillia caffraHedley, 1922 Drillia laraBartsch, P., 1915 Drillia nereiaTurton, W.H., 1932 Drillia nivosaSmith, E.A., 1904 Drillia praetermissaE.A. Smith, 1904 Pleurotoma (Clavus) caffraSmith E. A., 1882 (original description)

Drillia caffra is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Drilliidae. ^[2]

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 15 mm and 20 mm.

The shell is subquadrate-ovate. It has a buff color, the remains of the periostracum is dark brown. The upper ribs are white and the shell is dotted with numerous red spots. The protoconch contains 1½-2 whorls, the teleoconch 6 whorls. The shell shows numerous oblique axial ribs, increasing from 11 to 12 on the upper whorls to 15–16 on the body whorl. The oval aperture measures 2/5 of the total length of the shell. The columella is very callous, the upper part is swollen. The siphonal canal is broad and short. The anal sinus is deep and has a parietal callus.

The upper half of each whorl is concave and smooth and slightly thickened at the suture. The lower half is closely ribbed. The thickening below the suture is whitish, closely dotted with red. ^[3]

Distribution

This species occurs in the demersal zone of the Indian Ocean off the Eastern Cape, Jeffrey's Bay and North Transkei, South Africa.

References

1. Smith, E.A. (1882) Diagnoses of new species of Pleurotomidae in the British Museum. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 5, 10, 206–218.
2. Drillia caffra (Smith E. A., 1882) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 5 April 2010.
3. Smith, E.A. (1877). "Diagnoses of new species of Pleurotomidae in the British Museum". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 4 (19): 488–501. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Turton W.H. (1932). Marine Shells of Port Alfred, S. Africa. Humphrey Milford, London, xvi + 331 pp., 70 pls. page(s): 21, pl. 4.

External links

• "Drillia caffra". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
• Tucker, J.K. 2004 Catalog of recent and fossil turrids (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Zootaxa 682:1-1295