''Clionella bornii'' 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

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 ...

Clavatulidae Clavatulidae is a taxonomic family of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. The family is not well differentiated morphologically. Clavatulidae was raised, based on cladistic analysis, from subfamily to the family ...

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 25 mm and 40 mm. (Freely translated from the original Latin description) The whitish shell is elongated and subturrited. The shell contains about 8 rather flat

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 (the apex is lacking). Just below the suture it shows a bipartite girdle. The space between the longitudinal ribs has a red color These interstices are as long as the ribs. The oblique ribs are numerous and increase from 11–12 on the early whorls to 18 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 ...

, extending almost to the

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 ...

. The spiral striae show obsolete grooves and are best seen on the early whorls. The oval

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 ...

has a length of about the length of the shell. The aperture narrows to a slender point at its top. The very short

is slightly curved to the left. The columella is slightly curved in the middle and almost twisted. The outer lip is narrow and shows a rather deep sinus.Jeffreys, J. G. 1876. Preliminary report of the biological results of a cruise in the H.M.S. 'Valorous' to Davis Strait in 1875. ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'' 25: 177-230, pls. 2-4
/ref> This species is closely allied to the well-known '' Clionella sinuata''. It differs, however, in being covered with a paler epidermis, in having below the suture a raised girdle formed by a depression or constriction around the whorls, and also in the style of coloration.

Distribution

This marine species occurs between Jeffrey's Bay and

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

, South Africa

References

E.A. Smith, Diagnoses of new Species of Pleurotomidae in the British Museum; ''The Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology''. 1877, vol. xix. p. 499
* Kilburn, R.N. (1985). ''Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 2. Subfamily Clavatulinae''. ''Annals of the Natal Museum''. 26(2), 417–470.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clionella Bornii Endemic fauna of South Africa bornii Gastropods described in 1877