''Clanculus albinus'' 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 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 ...

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 ...

Trochidae The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles ...

, the top snails.Rosenberg, G. (2012). ''Clanculus albinus'' A. Adams, 1853. Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=594184 on 2012-11-23

Description

The size of the shell varies between 18 mm and 20 mm. The large, very solid shell is deeply and rather widely false-umbilicate. It has a globose-conic shape. 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 are ...

is obtuse and contains about six

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. These are wound obliquely, slightly gradated, rounded at the periphery, a little descending and constricted at 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 ...

. The base of the shell is rather flat, extending obliquely. The colour of the shell is pale buff, punctate with small irregularly scattered crimson or brown dots. The

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of the shell shows small grains of nearly uniform size are crowded in close spiral rows. On 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 ...

there are eighteen, on the penultimate seven, and on the antepenultimate six bead rows. Two or three spiral threads run along the shallow interstices which intervene between the rows. The oblique

is deltoid, choked by intrusions from right and left. From lip to lip a smooth thick but translucent callus spreads round the perforation. The very oblique columella arises deep within the perforation, and ends in a large projecting triplicate tubercle (the left intrusion). Above the tubercle is a fold, and above that a small denticle. The opposite intrusion is a massive tricuspid rooted within the margin of the lip, and hanging deep into the aperture. On the palate between the perforation and right insertion are three short entering bars, followed by another winding far into the interior. Inside the periphery are three long entering infrapalatal ridges alternating with short ones at the entrance. The basal margin shows half-a-dozen short transverse folds.C. Hedley (1908), Studies on Australian Mollusca. Part X; Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales v.33 (1908)
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Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Eastern Indian Ocean, the Indo-West Pacific, in

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

and off Australia (

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

References

* Adams, A. 1853. ''Contributions towards a monograph of the Trochidae, a family of gastropodous Mollusca''. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1851(19): 150-192 * Brazier, J. 1879. ''List of marine shells collected on Fitzroy Island''. Journal of Conchology 2: 186-199 * 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''. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp.

External links

Biodiversity Heritage Library (6 publications)

World Register of Marine Species
albinus Gastropods described in 1853 {{Trochidae-stub