Prosipho chordatus

Prosipho chordatus
Shell of Prosipho chordatus (specimen at the Smithsonian Institution)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Prosiphonidae
Genus:	Prosipho
Species:	P. chordatus
Binomial name
Prosipho chordatus (Strebel, 1908)
Synonyms
Sipho chordatusStrebel, 1908 (original combination)

Prosipho chordatus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Prosiphonidae, the true whelks. ^[1]

Description

(Original description in German) This thin, yet solid, turreted shell has a relatively blunt apex and has a light brownish-yellow color. Its interior and columella are white. The shell's 6.5 convex whorls are separated by a deep suture. The body whorl is constricted at the base and ends in a short, wide siphonal canal.

The sculpture features fine growth lines, and in young specimens, a few rib-like folds are visible on the second whorl. The most prominent feature is the spiral sculpture, which consists of fairly high ridges.

Below the suture, there is a narrow, smooth zone. This is followed by a narrow ridge and then stronger ridges that are slightly narrower than the spaces between them. In these interspaces, the cuticle has a compressed or fibrous appearance. Toward the base of the shell, the ridges become weaker and more crowded. There are five ridges on the penultimate whorl and 15 on the body whorl. ^[2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

References

1. Prosipho chordatus (Strebel, 1908) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 17 April 2010.
2. Strebel, H. (1908). Die Gastropoden. In: Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903 unter Leitung von Dr. Otto Nordenskjöld, Bd 6, Lief. 1: 111 pp., 6 pls. Stockholm This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .

• Engl, W. (2012). Shells of Antarctica. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 402 pp.