''Calliostoma laugieri'' 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 ...

Calliostomatidae Calliostomatidae is a family of sea snails within the superfamily Trochoidea and the clade Vetigastropoda.Gofas, S. (2013). Calliostomatidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdeta ...

. ;Subspecies: * ''Calliostoma laugieri laugieri'' (Payraudeau, 1826) * ''Calliostoma laugieri spongiarum'' (Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1885)

Description

The size of the shell varies between 7 mm and 17 mm. The shell is similar to ''

Calliostoma conulus ''Calliostoma conulus'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae. This is the type species of the genus. The variety ''Calliostoma conulus'' var. ''livida'' Dautzenberg, 1927 is a synonym of '' Ca ...

'', but smaller, generally darker in color. The apical

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 not (or but slightly) granulate. The form is straightly conical with about 8 whorls. The minute apical whorl is smooth. The following whorls, to the number of three or less, are granulate. Then there are several spirally grooved whorls, the lower ones either smooth or grooved. The distinct supra-sutural fasciole is articulated. The base of the shell is spirally grooved, sometimes smooth except around the axis. The color of the shell is very mutable with numerous varieties: dark olive-green or olive-brown, unicolored or longitudinally clouded with brown and lineolate with bluish; or yellowish, clouded with brown or yellow; or uniform purple. 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 sulcate or smooth inside.Tryon (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
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Distribution

This species occurs in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and off

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

References

* Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). ''European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification''. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calliostoma Laugieri laugieri Gastropods described in 1826