''Gymnobela blakeana'' is a species 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 ...
Raphitomidae
Raphitomidae is a family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.) (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". ''Malacologia'' 47(1-2). . 39 ...
.
Subspecies: ''Gymnobela blakeana agria''
(Dall, 1889) (synonym: ''Pleurotomella (Gymnobela) blakeana agria''
Dall, 1889)
Description
(Original description) The shell is very variable in proportions and somewhat variable in
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 ...
. It is thin, white, with a dark
protoconch, a rather acute
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 ...
, a short
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 ...
and rather wide
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 ...
. The sculpture consists of revolving threads, two stronger ones immediately in front of the suture, which are nodulated at their intersection with the ribs with sixteen to eighteen transverse ribs which are strongest near the suture and fade away toward the
siphonal canal. The notch is subobsolete. The shell shows the waxy polish characteristic of so many abyssal forms.
Distribution
''G. blakeana'' can be found in Atlantic and Caribbean waters, ranging from the coast of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
south to the
Yucatan.
[Tunnell, John W., Jr., Felder, Darryl L., & Earle, Sylvia A., eds. ''Gulf of Mexico Origin, Waters, and Biota, Volume 1: Biodiversity.'' Texas A&M University Press, 2009. 668.]
References
* Dall, 1881, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 54
External links
Gastropods.com: ''Gymnobela blakeana blakeana''*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gymnobela Blakeana
blakeana
Gastropods described in 1881