''Austrodrillia saxea'' 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 in the
family Horaiclavidae
Horaiclavidae is a family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.
In 2011 this family was split off from the family Pseudomelatomidae (formerly the subfamily Crassispirinae McLean, 1971) by Bouchet P., Ka ...
.
It was formerly included within the family
Turridae
Turridae is a taxonomic family name for a number of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. MolluscaBase (2018). Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Specie ...
, the turrids.
Description
The length of the shell attains 7 mm, its diameter 3 mm. The color of the shell shows an infrasutural spiral row of brown spots between the axial plicae, spirally elongate. On 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 ...
are three faint continuous spiral brown bands, and very faint curved axial bands.
Verco, J.C. 1909. ''Notes on South Australian marine Mollusca with descriptions of new species. Part XII; Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia v. 33 (1909)
/ref>
Distribution
This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.
References
Sowerby, G.B., III. (1896) ''List of the Pleurotomidae of South Australia, with descriptions of some new species.'' Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 2, 24–32, pl. 3
* Hedley, C. 1922. ''A revision of the Australian Turridae''. Records of the Australian Museum 13(6): 213–359, pls 42–56
* May, W.L. 1923. ''An Illustrated Index of Tasmanian Shells: with 47 plates and 1052 species''. Hobart : Government Printer 100 pp.
* Wells, F.E. 1990. ''Revision of the recent Australian Turridae referred to the genera Splendrillia and Austrodrillia.'' Journal of the Malacological Society of Australasia 11: 73–117
* Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
External links
Tucker, J.K. 2004 ''Catalog of recent and fossil turrids (Mollusca: Gastropoda)''. Zootaxa 682:1–1295
saxea
Gastropods of Australia
{{Horaiclavidae-stub