''Calliostoma tigris'', common name the tiger maurea, is a large

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 ...

of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family

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 ...

, the Calliostoma top snails.WoRMS (2010). ''Calliostoma tigris'' (Gmelin, 1791). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=467270 on15 December 2012 Some authors place this taxon in the subgenus ''Calliostoma (Maurea)''.

Description

The height of the shell varies between 50 mm and 96 mm. This makes it one of the largest ''Calliostoma'' species. The large, imperforate, solid but rather thin shell has a conical shape. It is light yellowish, longitudinally painted with numerous rather narrow irregular chestnut-reddish stripes. The surface of the embryonic whorls is smooth, the others encircled by numerous delicate, finely beaded lirulae, which on the penultimate whorl number about 16-20. On the upper surface of the body whorl there are 18-25 lirulae. The

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 a ...

is elevated, its lateral outlines concave above. The sutures are a little impressed. The shell contains 10 - 12 whorls, those of the spire flattened, the last convex, rounded at the periphery. The granulation is fine and even, not obsolete on the outer part of the base. 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 ...

is rhomboidal, iridescent within. The arcuate

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is pearly, bluntly tuberculate at base. This animal is usually found clinging to rock walls and underneath overhangs in caves, from 10m - 200m deep on semi exposed to very exposed open coastline. Feeds on hydroids and other encrusting fauna.

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where it is also known as rehoreho or matangongore, a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name also used for the topshell '' Cantharidus opalus''.Cook, Steve De C., “New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates Vol 1”, Canterbury University Press, NZ 2010, ISBN 978-1877257-60-5

Description

Distribution

References

External links

Further reading