''Danilia telebathia'' 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 ...

of small

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 ...

Chilodontidae.

Description

The height of the shell attains 11 mm. The thin and slightly nacreous, imperforate shell has an ovate shape. The shell contains seven

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 first wound horizontally, thus giving 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 ...

a decapitated aspect. The median whorls are separated by a channeled suture, flattened on the shoulder and subangled at the periphery, the last slightly descending behind 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 ...

. Colour : Pale yellowish beige with scattered irregular dashes of ochre alternate chocolate dots on the outer lip. Sculpture : 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 ...

carries eleven widely spaced fine spiral cords, the peripheral strongest. Of these six appear on the penultimate and fade gradually away on the upper whorls. Both cords and interspaces are crossed by delicate oblique lamellae which rise into scales upon the cords. They are crowded on the last whorl, do not cross the suture from whorl to whorl, and become fewer and fainter ascending the spire. The initial whorl is smooth. The

is very oblique and subcircular. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is effuse, fimbriated by the termination of the spiral

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 ...

. The inner lip projects over the umbilical region, thence spread from the axis to the right insertion as a solid sheet. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is spirally ascending within, terminating below in a downwardly directed tubercle, succeeded by a deep notch and an answering ridge. Thence along the edge of the gullet underneath the external varix are about a score of callus rays, alternately long and short, leading to the throat. Behind the aperture, about a millimetre from the free edge, is a sharp, narrow varix rising gradually at the base and ending abruptly at the suture. Hedley C. (1911) Report on the Mollusca obtained by the F.I.S. 'Endeavour' chiefly off Cape Wiles South Australia. Part 1; Zoological Results of the Fisheries Experiments 'Endeavour'
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in deep water.

References

* Vilvens C. & Héros V. 2005. ''New species and new records of Danilia (Gastropoda: Chilodontidae) from the Western Pacific.'' Novapex 6(3) : 53–64

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danilia Telebathia telebathia Gastropods described in 1911