''Granata sulcifera'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Chilodontaidae Chilodontaidae is a taxonomic family of mostly small deepwater sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Vetigastropoda (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). Taxonomy The family was previously in ...

Description

The size of the shell varies between 17 mm and 23 mm. The rather thin shell has an orbicular shape. The short

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 conoidal. Its color is grayish or pinkish, with narrow reddish-brown irregular longitudinal stripes, often broken into dots on the spirals. The

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 ...

consists of narrow spiral riblets with interstitial smaller threads. The interstices are finely latticed by raised close longitudinal striae. The spire contains about four

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 with the last 1½ very rapidly widening, descending anteriorly. The large

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 ...

is oblique, oval, lightly sulcate within and brilliantly iridescent, with red, skyblue and green reflections, neither predominating. The thin columella is arcuate, with a new-moon shaped flat white or slightly iridescent tract bounding it.G.W. Tryon (1890), Manual of Conchology vol. XII
(described as ''Stomatella sulcifera'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

, in the Indian Ocean off

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 ...

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 ...

and

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

, South Africa; off Lord Hood's Island, Australia.

References

* Adams, A. 1850. ''An arrangement of Stomatellidae, including the characters of a new genus Cumingia, with some additional generic characters''. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1850(18): 29–40, pl. 8 * Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). ''Contribution à l'étude de la faune de Madagascar: Mollusca marina testacea. Faune des colonies françaises'', III(fasc. 4). Société d'Editions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales: Paris. 321–636, plates IV-VII pp. * MacNae, W. & M. Kalk (eds) (1958). ''A natural history of Inhaca Island, Mozambique.'' Witwatersrand Univ. Press, Johannesburg. I-iv, 163 pp. * Barnard, K.H. 1963. ''Contributions to the knowledge of South African Marine Mollusca. Part IV. Gastropoda: Prosobranchiata: Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa, Tectibranchiata, Polyplacophora, Solenogastres, Scaphopoda.'' Annals of the South African Museum 47(2): 201–360, 30 figs * Kilburn, R. N. 1972. ''Taxonomic notes on South African marine Mollusca (2), with the description of new species and subspecies of Conus, Nassarius, Vexillum and Demoulia.'' Annals of the Natal Museum 21(2):391-437, 15 figs * Kilburn, R.N. & Rippey, E. (1982) ''Sea Shells of Southern Africa.'' Macmillan South Africa, Johannesburg, xi + 249 pp. page(s): 42 * Sharabati, D. 1984. ''Red Sea Shells''. London : KPI Limited 128 pp * Bosch D.T., Dance S.P., Moolenbeek R.G. & Oliver P.G. (1995) ''Seashells of eastern Arabia''. Dubai: Motivate Publishing. 296 pp. * Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) ''Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Beached Shells''. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 24 * Poppe G.T., Tagaro S.P. & Dekker H. (2006) ''The Seguenziidae, Chilodontidae, Trochidae, Calliostomatidae and Solariellidae of the Philippine Islands''. Visaya Supplement 2: 1–228. page(s): 33 * Herbert D.G. (2012) ''A revision of the Chilodontidae (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda: Seguenzioidea) of southern Africa and the south-western Indian Ocean''. African Invertebrates, 53(2): 381–502

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5594158 sulcifera Gastropods described in 1822