''Asperdaphne elegantissima'' 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 ...

Raphitomidae Raphitomidae is a family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.) (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". ''Malacologia'' 47(1-2). . 39 ...

Description

The length of the shell varies between 8 mm and 26 mm. (Original description) The ovately-fusiform shell has a sharp

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

and a short

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

. It is moderately strong, yellowish, with a faint red-brown band at the base 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 shell contains 9

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, of which about form a

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 ...

with obscure

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. The subsequent whorls are convex, separated by a linear suture, with a slight excavation below it. The sculpture consists of remote, rounded ribs, 10 in number on penultimate whorl, stronger on the upper ones, and numerous, raised, axial striae, as well on the ribs as in the interstices. This sculpture is crossed by numerous spiral lirae, which are fainter in the excavation and of which some, (4 on penultimate whorl) are stronger. In crossing the ribs these stronger lirae produce tubercles, strongest on upper whorls, nearly disappearing on the body whorl. By this sculpture the whole shell has a coarse cancellation, with a finer intermediate one. 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 subquadrangular, with a rather narrow sinus, comparatively deep for the genus. The peristome is but slightly convex above, suddenly roundly contracted below, forming an angle with the sip^honal canal, which is short and wide. The columellar margin is concave at its upper part, then nearly straight with a thin layer of enamel. The interior of the aperture is smooth, its margin with short grooves, corresponding to the lirae. The base of the interior and the interior of the siphonal canal are faintly red-brown. Schepman, 1913. The prosobranchia of the Siboga expedition. Part IV -V - VI: Toxoglossa

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and in the

Flores Sea The Flores Sea covers of water in Indonesia. The sea is bounded on the north by the island of Celebes and on the south by Sunda Islands of Flores and Sumbawa. Geography The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea (to the west), Java ...

References

External links

Gastropods.com: ''Asperdaphne elegantissima''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asperdaphne Elegantissima elegantissima Gastropods described in 1913