''Cantharidus crenelliferus'' 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 Trochidae, the top snails.Marshall, B. (2013). Cantharidus crenelliferus (A. Adams, 1851). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=720353 on 2014-01-16

Description

The height of the shell attains 10 mm. The imperforate shell has an elevated conical shape. It is reddish with red spots. The acuminate spire has a red apex. The planulate whorls with packed lirae, that are crenulate and transverse. The sutures are obliquely striate. 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 ...

is subangulate. The base of the shell is slightly convex. The aperture is subquadrate with a white interior. The white columella is curved and truncated at its base.Adams, A. 1851. ''Contributions towards a monograph of the Trochidae, a family of gastropodous Mollusca''. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1851(19): 150–192 (described as ''Thalotia crenellifera'')

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to Australia; it occurs off Queensland.

References

* Hedley, C. 1908. ''Studies on Australian Mollusca. Part 10''. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 33: 456–489 * Wilson, B., 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells''. Prosobranch Gastropods Pt I. Odyssey Publishing, Leederville, W.A. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantharidus Crenelliferus crenelliferus Gastropods of Australia Gastropods described in 1851