''Diloma subrostratum'',
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
the mudflat top shell, 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
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
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 ...
Trochidae
The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resembles ...
, the top snails.
[Marshall, B.; Bouchet, P. (2016). Diloma subrostratum (Gray, 1835). In: MolluscaBase (2016). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=546863 on 2016-11-26]
Description
The length of the adult shell of this species varies between 11 mm and 32 mm. The solid, conical shell is suborbicular. It is often more or less black, with close wavy longitudinal yellow lines. 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 ...
is short with five
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 last whorl is large, rounded, with its hinder part with three to six spiral keels. The axis is imperforated. The inside of the aperture is smooth and silvery.
Distribution
This common estuarine species is endemic to
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, occurring in the North and South Islands, and in
Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
.
[Cook, Steve De C., “New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates Vol 1”, Canterbury University Press, NZ 2010, ISBN 978-1877257-60-5]
References
* Miller M & Batt G, ''Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand'',
William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
*
Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'',
William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979
* Donald K.M., Kennedy M. & Spencer H.G. (2005) ''The phylogeny and taxonomy of austral monodontine topshells (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Trochidae), inferred from DNA sequences.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 474-483.
Bruce A. Marshall, ''Molluscan and brachiopod taxa introduced by F. W. Hutton in The New Zealand journal of science''; Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 25, Issue 4, 1995
External links
*
New Zealand Mollusca: ''Diloma subrostrata''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5277022
subrostratum
Gastropods of New Zealand
Gastropods described in 1835