Nassarius whiteheadae

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Nassarius whiteheadae
Nassarius whiteheadae Cernohorsky, 1984 NMR993000100427.jpg
Type specimen collected from Dingo Beach, Queensland
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Buccinoidea
Family: Nassariidae
Subfamily: Nassariinae
Genus: Nassarius
Species:
N. whiteheadae
Binomial name
Nassarius whiteheadae
Synonyms [1]
  • Nassarius (Zeuxis) whiteheadaeCernohorsky, 1984

Nassarius whiteheadae is a species of dog whelks, a marine mollusc, in the family Nassariidae. [1] Named after Thora Whitehead, the species is endemic to Australia, known from intertidal waters of Northern Queensland.

Contents

Description

Nassarius whiteheadae has a shell up to 13 mm (0.51 in) in length. The shells are elongate-ovate with occasionally produced spires, and a teleoconch of between 4–5.25 weakly convex whorls, and a protoconch with embryonic whorls numbering 2.25 to 2.5. It can be differentiated from N. fraudator due to being smaller, having more slender and offset spire whorls, and due to its unusual paucispiral protoconch. [2]

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1984 by Walter Oliver Cernohorsky, who used the name Nassarius (Zeuxis) whiteheadae, placing the species in a subgenus named Zeuxis, which is no longer accepted. [2] [1] The holotype was collected from Sinclair Bay near Edgecumbe Bay in North Queensland, Australia, and is held by the Australian Museum. [2] N. whiteheadae was named after Australian malacologist Thora Whitehead. [2] [3] Paratypes of the species are held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. [4]

Distribution and habitat

The species is endemic to Australia, known to occur in North Queensland in intertidal waters. [2] [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Nassarius whiteheadae Cernohorsky, 1984 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 23 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Cernohorsky, W. O. (1984). "Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda)". Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum . 14: 151. ISSN   0067-0456. LCCN   86101164. OCLC   16358067. Wikidata   Q115120219.
  3. ↑ "Thora P. Whitehead | Shellers From the Past and Present". www.conchology.be. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Blom, Wilma M. (2025). "Annotated Catalogue of Fossil and Extant Molluscan Types in the Auckland War Memorial Museum". Bulletin of the Auckland Museum . 22. doi:10.32912/BULLETIN/22. ISSN   1176-3213. Wikidata   Q135397912.
  5. ↑ "Species Nassarius (Zeuxis) whiteheadae Cernohorsky, 1984". Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved 23 September 2025.

Further reading

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