''Kermia irretita'' 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

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 ...

.MolluscaBase (2019). MolluscaBase. Kermia irretita (Hedley, 1899). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1030863 on 2019-07-17

Description

The length of the shell attains 5 mm, its diameter 2 mm. (Original description) The narrow shell has an ovate-fusiform shape. It is turreted and sharply angled below a sloping shoulder. Its colour is white, from the suture to the angle opaque, below the angle hyaline with opaque beads. The

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

is buff yellow, a splash of the same on the anterior dorsal portion 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 ...

, a pale yellow thread, confined to one spiral cord, ascends each

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 ...

below the angle, and another surrounds the body whorl below the periphery. The adult contains 4½ whorls. The body whorl bears fifteen longitudinal costae which cross the flattened part of the whorl obliquely, where they are separated by twice their breadth. Above the angle they bend and enlarge suddenly. Towards the base they curve in and vanish at the basal constriction. On the penultimate whorl these costae alternate with those below the suture. These longitudinal costae are over-ridden by a series of fine sharp spiral cords knotted at each costa. The body whorl carries four larger and more undulating ones above the angle and ten below it. On the base are six simple cords. The

is horny, mamillate, three and a half whorled, the larger sculptured with a raised network, contrasting sharply by colour and texture with the adult shell, which suddenly commences with a thick raised white tongue at the suture. The aperture is narrow and elliptical. The columella is arched, overlaid by a callus which ends abruptly where the aperture narrows. The

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

is short and wide. The outer lip is massive, ridged externally by a dozen transverse cords which denticulate the edges. Within are seven weak entering ridges. The aperture mounts the preceding whorl to the height of two spiral cords, and encloses a deep wide anal notch with a prominent callus. Ch. Hedley (1896) - The Mollusca of Funafuti, and supplement. From: The atoll of Funafuti, Ellice group: its zoology, botany, ethnology, and general structure based on collections made by Mrs. Charles Hedley, of the Australian museum, Sydney, N. S. W.; Monograph, Australian Museum vol. 17-19
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off Tuvalu.

References

External links

*
Bouchet, P.; Kantor, Y. I.; Sysoev, A.; Puillandre, N. (2011). ''A new operational classification of the Conoidea (Gastropoda)''. Journal of Molluscan Studies. 77(3): 273-308
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kermia Irretita irretita Gastropods described in 1899