''Calliotectum'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 ...

s 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 ...

Volutidae. The genus was first described by William Healey Dall in 1890.

Description

The shell shows a dark vernicose

periostracum The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...

. There is no differentiated

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 ...

anal sulcus The anal sulcus, also called the anal sinus or anal canal, in Gastropods is a notch, a shelly tube at the top of the aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and fo ...

or fasciole. The shell is axially ribbed. The columella is thin and twisted. The axis is impervious. The outer lip is simple, arcuate, thin, not internally lirate. The operculum is like that of ''

Fusinus ''Fusinus'' is a genus of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails and tulip snails. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Fusinus Rafinesque, 1815. Accessed through: World Reg ...

'', but arcuate. The animal is blind, without

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

or poison gland. Type species: ''Calliotectum vernicosum'' Dall, 1890.

Distribution

Species of the genus are found off Taiwan, in the East China Sea, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Philippines, Eastern Pacific, Galapagos Islands, Lubang Island, Wallis and Futuna, Kermadec Islands, Chesterfield Isles, East China Sea, Indonesia, in the Arafura Sea, and off the northern and western coasts of Australia.

Species

Species within the genus ''Calliotectum'' include: * '' Calliotectum dalli'' (Bartsch, 1942) * '' Calliotectum egregium'' Bouchet & Poppe, 1995 * '' Calliotectum mirabile'' (Clench & Aguayo, 1941) * '' Calliotectum piersonorum'' Bouchet & Poppe, 1995 * '' Calliotectum smithi'' (Bartsch, 1942) * ''

Calliotectum tibiaeforme ''Calliotectum tibiaeforme'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family (biology), family Volutidae, the volutes. ;Subspecies: * ''Calliotectum tibiaeforme barneli'' Bail, 2006 * ''Calliotectum tibiaeforme johnsoni'' ( ...

'' (Kuroda, 1931) * '' Calliotectum vernicosum'' Dall, 1890

References

* Bail P. & Poppe G.T. 2001. ''A conchological iconography: a taxonomic introduction of the recent Volutidae.'' ConchBooks, Hackenheim. 30 pp, 5 pl.

External links

Finlay H.J. (1926). ''A further commentary on New Zealand molluscan systematics.'' Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. 57: 320-485, pls 18-23
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5022566 Volutidae Taxa named by William Healey Dall Taxa described in 1890