''Kermia thespesia'' 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). . 3 ...

Description

The length of the shell attains 6 mm, its diameter 2.5 mm. (Original description) A beautiful species, by the description and figure allied to '' Daphnella varicosa'' (Souverbie & Montrozier, 1874) from the same region. There are, however, no signs of varices. The shell is pure delicate white, with seven or eight

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, of which three are apical and vitreous brown. The remainder are finely decussate. Where the spiral lines cross the oblique riblets a gemmuliferous appearance is presented. The whorls are squarely ventricose, impressed at the sutures. The coloration consists in orange-brown lines, different in number in every specimen. Some specimens are almost plain, others have a row of square brown spots just below the suture on 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 ...

. The aperture is oblong. The outer lip is incrassate, suturally expanded, finely denticulate within. The sinus is broad, but not deep.Melvill J.C. & Standen R. (1896) Notes on a collection of shells from Lifu and Uvea, Loyalty Islands, formed by the Rev. James and Mrs. Hadfield, with list of species. Part II. Journal of Conchology 8: 273-315 (+ pls 9-11 published in April 1897)
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off the Loyalty Islands and off Mauritius, Taiwan,

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and in the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

References

* Hedley, C. 1907. ''The Mollusca of Mast Head Reef, Capricorn Group, Queensland, part II.'' Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 32: 476–513, pls 16–21 * Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). ''Mollusques testacés marins de Madagascar.'' Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III * Zhenguo, Z. 1995. S''tudies on micromolluscan Turridae of Lüdao Islet, Taiwan.'' Studia Marina Sinica 36: 273–296, 5 pls * Liu J.Y. uiyu(ed.). (2008). ''Checklist of marine biota of China seas.'' China Science Press. 1267 pp.

External links

*
Gastropods.com: ''Kermia thespesia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kermia Thespesia thespesia Gastropods described in 1896