''Amoria damonii'', common name Damon's volute, is a

species 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 s ...

sea snail 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 ...

, a marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Volutidae ''Volutidae'', common name volutes, are a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails that range in size from 9 mm to over 500 mm. They are marine gastropod mollusks. Most of the species have no operculum. Distribution This family of sea snails ...

, the volutes. It forms a complex of attractive, large shells which has been studied extensively by Abbottsmith. It was named in honor of English conchologist

Robert Damon Robert Damon (1814 – 4 May 1889) was an English conchologist and geologist. Damon was at first a hosier and glover but with his son Robert Ferris Damon (1845–1929) he established a dealership in natural history specimens in Weymouth. T ...

(1814–1889).

Taxonomy

According to Bail et al. (2001) the following taxa can be differentiated: ; ''Amoria (Amoria) damonii damonii'' Gray 1864 : = ''reticulata'' (Reeve, 1844) : = ''hedleyi'' (Iredale, 1914) ; ''Amoria (Amoria) damonii'' forma ''keatsiana'' Ludbrook, 1953 : = ''gatliffi'' (Sowerby III, 1910) ; ''Amoria (Amoria) damonii reevei'' (Sowerby II, 1864) ; ''Amoria (Amoria) damonii ludbrookae'' Bail & Limpus, 1997

Description

''Amoria damonii'' has a large size that varies between 75 and 140 mm. The

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

is glossy, domed, white on the early whorls, tawny later. The spire is conical with a deep-set suture.

Distribution

The ''Amoria damonii'' complex includes four large, evidently correlated populations of ''Amoria'', whose distribution extends from

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders Ba ...

(S.W. Australia) to the northern east coast of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, i.e. for more than 6,500 km of coastline. Such a large range, rare in

, is even more unusual for an ''Amoria''. This long stretch of coastline implies genetic differentiation and favours polytypism, giving rise to many taxonomic problems.

Habitat

These marine gastropod molluscs occur in tropical zones on continental shelf, intertidal and subtidal waters, at depths of 0 to 90 m.Australia Biological Resources
/ref>

Bibliography

* A. G. Hinton – ''Guide to Australian Shells'' * Alan G. Hinton – ''Shells of New Guinea & Central Pacific'' * Bail P. & Poppe G. T. 2001. ''A conchological iconography: a taxonomic introduction of the recent Volutidae''. ConchBooks, Hackenheim. * Bail, P., Limpus, A. & Poppe, G. T. (2001): "The Genus ''Amoria''". In: Poppe, G. T. & Groh, K.: ''A Conchological Iconography''. 50 pp., 93 plts. ConchBooks, Hackenheim, . * Harald Douté, M. A. Fontana Angioy – ''Volutes, The Doute collection'' * Wilson, B. (1993). ''Australian Marine Shells'' Part 2

References

External links

Encyclopedia of life

Animalbase
Volutidae Gastropods described in 1864 Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{Volutidae-stub