| Megasurcula howei | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Family: | Pseudomelatomidae |
| Genus: | Megasurcula |
| Species: | †M. howei |
| Binomial name | |
| †Megasurcula howei Hanna and Hertlein, 1938 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Megasurcula howei is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pseudomelatomidae, the turrids and allies. [1]
The length of the shell attains 36 mm, its diameter 23.6 mm.
This high-spired, biconic species differs from Megasurcula condonana (Anderson and Martin, 1914) by having a smoothly conic spire and relatively narrower body whorl. When the body whorl angulation is used as a point of reference, in non-apertural view, the upper cone of M. howei is relatively higher than the lower cone, whereas the reverse is true in specimens of the stout-shelled M. condonana. Further differences are the more acute sutural angle and the concave profile of M. condonana.
It is closely related to † Megasurcula guayasensis of the Miocene in Ecuador, but differs by being less slender, a bit taller and less finely noded. [2]
Fossils of this marine species have been found in Miocene strata of the Temblor Formation, California.
The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some gastropods appear shell-less (slugs) but may have a remnant within the mantle, or the shell is reduced such that the body cannot be retracted within (semi-slug). Some snails also possess an operculum that seals the opening of the shell, known as the aperture, which provides further protection. The study of mollusc shells is known as conchology. The biological study of gastropods, and other molluscs in general, is malacology. Shell morphology terms vary by species group.
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