''Cochlespira travancorica'' 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 ...

Cochlespiridae Cochlespiridae is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. This family is not well differentiated morphologically, and there is poor congruence betwe ...

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 20 mm and 40 mm. (Original description) The smooth shell is narrowly fusiform. The colour is a dull white under a thin greyish

periostracum The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...

. The shell contains 7 whorls. The tall teleoconch is pagodaform. The whorls, at about three-fourths whorl height, are sharply angulated and coronated by a thin lamella which is produced into somewhat irregular upward curved broad based spines. Above the carina the shoulder is concave. From the carina to the lower suture the outlines are straight but inclined inward below. The lines of growth are finely striated. 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 carinate a little below the dentate periphery and tapers gradually to a long straight

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 ...

which is obliquely striated. The narrow

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 ...

continues into the siphonal canal. The outer lip is slender . The broad and deep sinus is profoundly arcuated above the peripheral carina and extending into the suture.Smith, E. A. "Natural history notes from HM Indian Marine Survey Steamer'Investigator', Commander CF Oldham, RN-Series II, No. 22. Descriptions of new Deep-sea Mollusca." Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6.18 (1896): 367–375.
(described as ''Pleurotoma (Ancistrosyrinx) travancorica'' )

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

References

* Annandale and Stewart, Illustr. Zool. Investigator, Moll., pt. 6, pi. 7, figs. 1, la.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochlespira Travancorica travancorica