''Fossarina picta'' is a species of very 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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

micromollusk A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also ...

in the family Trochidae, the top snails. A. Adams, Description of new species of shells from Japan,; Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1867
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Description

The shell grows to a length of 4 mm. The depressed, turbinate shell is very similar to ''

Fossarina patula ''Fossarina patula'' is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc or micromollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.Marshall, B. (2013). Fossarina patula (A. Adams & Angas, 1864). Accessed through: World Register of M ...

'', but the spiral lirae are equal and simple. The shell contains four convex

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

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 large with a rounded margin. The sharp lips are arcuate. The aperture is nearly circular. The outline of the shell is more orbicular. The shell is marked with irregular purple-black radiating blotches. The umbilical region is generally pale yellow.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the coat of South Korea and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16982097

picta The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

Gastropods described in 1864