''Apaturris costifera'' is a species of

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 ...

Borsoniidae Borsoniidae is a monophyletic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Borsoniidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.o ...

.Bouchet, P. (2015). Apaturris costifera May, 1920. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=435472 on 2016-02-07

Description

(Original description) The small shell is fusiform. It iswhite with a broad chestnut band on the centre of the

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. In gastropods In gastropods, the b ...

. The 5½

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

s are rounded, the first two being quite smooth, the rest sculptured with strong, rounded axial ribs, fourteen on the penultimate, sixteen on the body whorl. They fade away a little below the periphery. The base is encircled by numerous fairly strong spiral lirae. The ribs are crossed by very fine, sharp spiral threads. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is fairly large, pointed above, broad at the base, where it scarcely becomes a canal. The columella is excavate, bearing two low tubercles. The outer lip is rounded and simple. Length, 4.5 mm; breadth, 2 mm Habitat. Type, with five others from about 40 fathom;-East of Thouin Bay. This species closely resembles '' Mitromorpha axicostata'' Verco 1909. It has, however, a narrower shell, with more rounded whorls, and the spiral lirae are much less strong. It has, too, a more bluntly rounded apex. May, W. L. (1920). ''New species of Tasmanian Mollusca, with critical remarks on several described species, and additions to the list.'' Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. (1919): 55–69, pls 14–17
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Distribution

This marine species occurs in Australia off

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apaturris Costifera Apaturris Gastropods described in 1920 Gastropods of Australia