''Clionella confusa'' 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 shell grows to a length of 40 mm. (Original description) The elongate shell has a uniform bright red or yellowish colour. It contains 10 ?

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 ( apex broken away). These are rather flat, constricted at the upper part, leaving a rounded girdle beneath the suture, with about 14 slightly oblique costa) below the constriction, by which they are interrupted, so that they are only faintly indicated upon the cingulum above. The ribs upon 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 ...

are attenuated anteriorly, but disappear upon the snout. The suture is a little oblique and wavy. 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 ...

is more or less rosaceous within. The columella is curved, covered with a thin whitish callus. The outer lip is distinctly but not deeply notched at the constriction. This species has been confounded with ''

Clionella rosaria ''Clionella rosaria'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae. The forma ''Clionella rosaria'' f. ''kowiensis'' (Turton, 1932) is accepted as ''Clionella rosaria'' (Reeve, 1846) Description The size of ...

'' (Reeve, 1846) because of its bright red colour. Reeve's species, however, appears invariably to have the cingulum at the upper part of the whorls whitish, and more or less spotted with brown. The whorls of that species are more convex, and are distinctly transversely striated. It appears to be smaller also, the largest specimen examined being only 25 mm. in length. It is more variable in colour, sometimes bright red with a white girdle, sometimes brown, mottled with white, or yellowish, flecked with white dots.
Smith, E. A. 1906. ''On South African marine Mollusca, with descriptions of new species''. Annals of the Natal Government Museum 1:19-71, pls. 7-8

Distribution

This marine species occurs from Mossel Bay to North

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

References

* Kilburn, R.N. (1985). ''Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 2. Subfamily Clavatulinae''. Ann. Natal Mus. 26(2), 417–470.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clionella Confusa Endemic fauna of South Africa confusa Gastropods described in 1906