''Kelletia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of large

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 ...

s, whelks, 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 ...

s 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 ...

Austrosiphonidae The Austrosiphonidae are a taxonomic family of large sea snails, often known as whelks.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Austrosiphonidae Cotton & Godfrey, 1938. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespec ...

, the true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Fraussen, K. (2015). Kelletia Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=490535 on 2016-07-07

Distribution

One extant species ''

Kelletia lischkei ''Kelletia lischkei'' is a species of large sea snail, or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks. Description ''Kelletia lischkei'' is a medium-to-large species of buccinid whelk. Distribution The spec ...

'' occurs in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

off the coasts of Japan and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and another '' K. kelletii'' is found of along the coasts of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States and in the

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico. Fossil species are documented in Japan,Ogasawara, K. 2002. Cenozoic Gastropoda. In: Ikeya, N., Hirano, H., Ogasawara, K. eds. The database of Japanese fossil type specimens described during the 20th Century (Part 2). Palaeontological Society of Japan, Special Paper 40. University of Tokyo, Tokyo. California,Hertlein, L.G. 1970. A new species of fossil ''Kelletia'' (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the Lomita Marl, Late Cenozoic of San Pedro, California. Contributions in Science 190, 1 - 8.Arnold, R. 1910. Paleontology of the Coalinga District, Fresno and Kings counties, California. United States Geological Survey Bulletin 396Addicott, W.O. 1970. Miocene gastropods and biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California. Geological Survey Professional Paper 642. United States Printing Office, WashingtonAnderson, F.M., Martin, B. 1914. Neocene Record in the Temblor Basin, California, and Neocene deposits of San Juan distinct, San Luis Obispo County. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4, 15 - 122.Kanakoff, G.P.. 1954. A new ''Kelletia'' from the Pliocene of California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 52, 114 - 117. and

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

.Olsson, A.A., 1964. Neogene mollusks from northwestern Ecuador. Palaeontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York, USA, 256.

Evolution

A molecular

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

of Buccinidae based on the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene suggested that ''Kelletia'' is a closely related to ''

Penion ''Penion'' is a genus of large marine snails, commonly known as siphon whelks, classified within the mollusc family Austrosiphonidae, the true whelks.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Penion P. Fischer, 1884. Accessed through: World Regi ...

'', a true whelk genus with extant species distributed in waters off of New Zealand and Australia. Results of a further molecular phylogenetic studies using mitochondrial genomic and nuclear

ribosomal DNA Ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is a DNA sequence that codes for ribosomal RNA. These sequences regulate transcription initiation and amplification, and contain both transcribed and non-transcribed spacer segments. In the human genome there are 5 chromos ...

sequence data re-affirmed this relationship, and also demonstrated that ''Kelletia'' and ''

Antarctoneptunea ''Antarctoneptunea'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Austrosiphonidae, the true whelks. Distribution ''Antarctoneptunea'' marine snails occur in deep water surrounding New Zealand and in Southern Ocean encirc ...

'' found in the southern Pacific and Southern oceans are sister clades. The common ancestor of the three genera most likely evolved in the southern Pacific Ocean, and a lineage leading to ''Kelletia'' dispersed over millions of years up the western coast of the Americas into the northern Pacific Ocean. Radulae and opercula morphology is similar between ''Penion'' and ''Kelletia''.

Species

Extant Species

Fossils

* † ''

Kelletia brevis ''Kelletia'' is a genus of large sea snails, whelks, a marine gastropod molluscs in the family Austrosiphonidae, the true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Fraussen, K. (2015). Kelletia Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: Wor ...

'' (Ozaki, 1954) * † ''

Kelletia ecuadoriana ''Kelletia'' is a genus of large sea snails, whelks, a marine gastropod molluscs in the family Austrosiphonidae, the true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Fraussen, K. (2015). Kelletia Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: Wor ...

'' (Olsson, 1964) * † '' Kelletia kanakoffi'' (Hertlein, 1970) * † '' Kelletia kettlemanensis'' (Arnold, 1910) * † '' Kelletia lorata'' (Addicott, 1970) * † '' Kelletia posoensis'' (Anderson & Martin, 1914) * † '' Kelletia rugosa'' (Olsson, 1964) * † ''

Kelletia vladimiri ''Kelletia'' is a genus of large sea snails, whelks, a marine gastropod molluscs in the family Austrosiphonidae, the true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Fraussen, K. (2015). Kelletia Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: Wor ...

'' (Kanakoff, 1954)

References

External links

World Register of Marine Species: ''Kelletia'' Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884

Fossilworks Database ''Kelletia'' Fischer 1884 (true whelk)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6385701 Austrosiphonidae