''Cirsonella laxa'' is a minute

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 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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

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 ...

Skeneidae The Skeneidae are a speciose family of minute to small marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Trochoidea.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2013). Skeneidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php ...

.Rosenberg, G. (2013). Cirsonella laxa Powell, 1937. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=598291 on 2013-10-04

Description

The height of the shell attains 0.8 mm, its diameter 1.3 mm.

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to New Zealand. It occurs off

Three Kings Islands 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

, Māhia and

Snares Islands The Snares Islands / Tini Heke, known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snares consist of the m ...

at a depth of 260 m.

References

* Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 * Morley, M.S.; Hayward, B.W.; Raven, J.L.; Foreman, G.A.; Grenfell, H.R. 2006: ''Intertidal and shallow subtital biota of Māhia Peninsula, Hawkes Bay''. Records of the Auckland Museum 43: 11-41. laxa Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1937 {{Trochoidea-stub