''Gibberulus gibberulus'', common name the humpbacked conch, 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 sea snail, a marine gastropod

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 group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Strombidae Strombidae, commonly known as the true conchs, is a taxonomic family of medium-sized to very large sea snails in the superfamily Stromboidea, and the Epifamily Neostromboidae. The term true conchs, being a common name, does not have an exact me ...

, the true conchs. There are two subspecies : * ''Gibberulus gibberulus albus'' ( Mörch, 1850) * ''Gibberulus gibberulus gibberulus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758): represented as ''Gibberulus gibberulus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (alternate representation) * ''Gibberulus gibberulus gibbosus'' ( Röding, 1798) (synonyms: ''Gibberulus gibbosus'' ( Röding, 1798); ''Lambis gibbosa'' Röding, 1798 (original combination))

Description

The adult shell size varies between 30 mm and 70 mm. The smooth shell is gibbous. 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 a ...

is occasionally varicose. The body whorl is grooved at the base. 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 smooth. The interior of 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 ...

is radiately striate. The shell is mottled and hieroglyphically marked with yellowish brown and white. The markings are often arranged in a few or numerous interrupted revolving bands. The aperture is tinged violaceous, scarlet or dark purplish brown.G.W. Tryon (1885), Manual of Conchology vol. VII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia

Distribution

This species occurs in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and in the Indian Ocean off Aldabra,

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Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

; in the Pacific Ocean off Australia (

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

References

* Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systemae naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differetiis, synonymis, locis.v. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii 824 pp. * Mörch, O.A.L. 1852. ''Catalogus Conchyliorum quae reliquit d. Alphonso d'Aguirra & Gadea Comes de Yoldi, regis daniae cubiculariorum princeps, ordinis dannebrogici in prima classe & ordinis caroli Tertii eques. Part 1. Cephalophora''. Copenhagen : Hafinae Vol. 1 170 pp. * Frauenfeld, G.R. von 1869. ''Beitraege zur Fauna der Nicobaren''. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien XIX: 853-900 * Jousseaume, F. 1888. ''Description des Mollusques Recueillis par M. Le Dr. Faurot dans la Mer Rouge et le Golfe D'Aden.'' Mémoires de la Société Zoologique de France 1(42): 166-223 * Cotton, B.C. 1953. No. 3. Strombidae. Adelaide : Royal Society of South Australia, Malacological Section 4 pp. 1 pl. * Abbott, R.T. 1960. ''The genus Strombus in the Indo-Pacific.'' Indo-Pacific Mollusca 1(2): 33-146 * Walls, J.G. (1980). ''Conchs, tibias and harps. A survey of the molluscan families Strombidae and Harpidae''. T.F.H. Publications Ltd, Hong Kong. * Wilson, B. 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp.

External links

* {{Commons category Strombidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus