''Harpa doris'', common name the rose harp, 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 Harpidae, the harp snails.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 30 mm and 81 mm. The rather thin shell is ovate and ventricose. The conical spire is slightly muricated (= covered with short, sharp points). The 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 flo ...

s near the edge are the widest. The ribs are flat, often narrow, almost all marked at their base by four or five conical denticulations, and at the upper extremity of 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 ...

, by four small mucronated tubercles, which appear again upon the whorls of the spire. The coloring of the ribs is of a light gray. They are circled by rose-colored or white bands in bars. At their external edge, which is slightly projecting, is drawn a brown or blackish longitudinal stroke, interrupted by small horizontal white rays. The interstices of the ribs are of a grayish pearl color, waved with fine strokes in double bars, which are laced with strokes of a red brown. Rose-colored spots are likewise seen between the ribs. The ovate aperture is of a pale yellow, with several bands of a dark violet. The outer lip is ornamented by the last rib, which is undulated throughout its whole length. The columella is polished, arcuated towards the base, and has two or three spots of a bluish violet.Kiener (1840). General species and iconography of recent shells : comprising the Massena Museum, the collection of Lamarck, the collection of the Museum of Natural History, and the recent discoveries of travellers; Boston :W.D. Ticknor,1837
(described as ''Harpa rosea'')

Distribution

This marine species occurs, buried in sand near rocks, in the Atlantic Ocean off

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

, West Africa, Gabon and Angola.

References

* Rolán E., 2005. '' Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harpa doris Harpidae Gastropods described in 1798 Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of Angola Gastropods of Cape Verde