''Crassispira fuscescens'' is a species of

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 in the family

Pseudomelatomidae Pseudomelatomidae is a family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropods included in the superfamily Conoidea (previously Conacea) and part of the Neogastropoda ( Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). In 1995 Kantor elevated the subfamily Pseudomelatomina ...

. This species is similar to † ''Drillia fuscescens'' (Gray, 1843)

Description

The length of the shell varies between 10 mm and 25 mm. The color of the shell is deep chocolate-brown. The longitudinal ribs commence abruptly and are separated by wider interspaces, crossed by revolving raised lines, forming granules in the keel. The

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 above the periphery are smooth and slightly concave, with a raised line next the suture. The outer lip is thickened. with a sharp edge and a broad sinus.G.W. Tryon (1884) Manual of Conchology, structural and systematic, with illustrations of the species, vol. VI; Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

, USA, and from the West Indies to Brazil; fossils were found in

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

strata in Cuba; age range: 2.588 to 0.012 Ma

References

* Reeve, L. 1843. ''Monograph of the genus Pleurotoma'' Conchologia Iconica 1 pls. 1-18 * Absalão, R. S.; Pimenta, A. D. & Caetano, C. H. S. 2007. Turridae (Mollusca, Neogastropoda, Conoidea) coletados no litoral sudeste do Brasil, Programa REVIZEE “Score” Central. Biociências (On-line) 13: 19-47.

External links

*
Rosenberg G., Moretzsohn F. & García E. F. (2009). ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico'', Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas

MNHN: specimen

De Jong K.M. & Coomans H.E. (1988) Marine gastropods from Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire. Leiden: E.J. Brill. 261 pp.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crassispira Fuscescens fuscescens Gastropods described in 1843