''Epidirella xanthophaes'' 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

Turridae Turridae is a taxonomic family name for a number of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. MolluscaBase (2018). Turridae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 (1838). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Specie ...

, the turrids. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Epidirella xanthophaes (R. B. Watson, 1886). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1057512 on 2020-11-19

Description

The length of the shell varies between 18 mm and 28 mm. (Original description by R.B. Watson) The shell is high, narrow, fusiform, subscalar, bicarinated, tubercled, fulvous, with brown specks between the carinal tubercles. Sculpture : Longitudinals — there are rough lines of growth. Spirals—the whole surface is covered with very unequal threads. Immediately below the suture is a broadish thread, puckered by the lines of growth. Below this on the shoulder of the shell there are three feeble threads rather widely and quite shallowly parted. The corner of the shoulder has a strongish rounded keel cut into white blunt tubercles, between which are chestnut spots. Below this keel is a broad and somewhat constricted furrow in which are some (3 to 6) feeble threads. The lower side of the furrow is formed by another keel also tubercled and speckled, but weaker than the upper keel. Between these two keels the shell is cylindrical. From this point it begins to contract, has one feeble thread, then plainly within the base two strongish threads, which are subtubercled. Below this on the front of the base and on the columella are about 10 threads. The point of the columella has no threads, but is very rough. The colour of the shell is fulvous, with whitish and chestnut specks. The point of the snout is white. The spire is high, narrow, conical and slopingly scalar. Apex is coronated (?). It is somewhat rubbed, but seems to consist of 3 to 4

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 shell consists of seven whorls, exclusive of those of the apex. They are bicarinated, constricted above and below, of slow aud regular increase. The body whorl is small, with a rounded elongated base and a small somewhat longish

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 ...

. The suture is strongly marked by the constriction above it, and is marginated by the puckered thread below. The aperture is club-shaped. The outer lip is thin, with a sinus strong rather than deep, V-shaped, extending from the suture, and having its apex at the keel. The inner lip is thin, concave above, then direct, and then at the siphonal canal strongly cut off to the left, and having a slight twist on its edge.

Biology

Members of the order Neogastropoda are mostly gonochoric and broadcast spawners. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktonic trocophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.

Life Cycle and Mating Behavior

Embryos develop into planktonic trocophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, at depths between 37 m and 161 m.

References

* May, W.L. 1923. An illustrated index of Tasmanian shells: with 47 plates and 1052 species. Hobart : Government Printer 100 pp. * Laseron, C. 1954. Revision of the New South Wales Turridae (Mollusca). Australian Zoological Handbook. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales pp. 56, pls 1–12. * Hedley, C. 1922. A revision of the Australian Turridae. Records of the Australian Museum 13(6): 213–359, pls 42–56 * Wilson, B. 1994. Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. * Powell, A. W. B. 1964. The family Turridae in the Indo-Pacific. Indo-Pacific Mollusca 1. (5): 227-346; 1 (7): 409-454 * Beechey, D. 2004. Epidirella xanthophaes (Watson, 1886). http://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Turridae/Pages/Epidirella_xanthophaes.htm

External links

Des Beechey, ''The Seashells of New South Wales''; January 2012

May W.L. (1911). New marine Mollusca. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. (1910): 380–398, pls 13–15

Gastropods.com: Epidirella xanthophaes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Epidirella Xanthophaes xanthophaes Gastropods described in 1886 Gastropods of Australia