''Leucosyrinx chloris'' is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

Pseudomelatomidae Pseudomelatomidae is a family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropods included in the superfamily Conoidea (previously Conacea) and part of the Neogastropoda ( Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005). In 1995 Kantor elevated the subfamily Pseudomelatomina ...

, the turrids and allies.

Description

The length of the shell attains 14.5 mm, its diameter 5.0 mm (Original description) The subfusiform, thin shell has an 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 ...

and a long, straight, anterior siphonal canal. The protoconch is small, globular of about 2, smooth, convex

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. The remaining whorls number about 7. The whorls of the spire are strongly angled in the middle, leaving a wide, concave or sloping zone about the upper suture. The

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 ...

consists of small, more or less confluent tubercles on the periphery of the whorls and number on the body whorl about 14. In addition, the whole surface is strongly sculptured with raised, subequal, spiral threads. The base of the shell is strongly contracted to the long, straight, anterior canal. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is broken. The anal sinus, as indicated by the growth lines, lies in the concave zone, close to the upper suture.Bulletins of American paleontology. v. 9 (1922)
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Distribution

Fossils of this extinct marine species were found in

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

strata in northern Costa Rica.

References

A. A. Olsson. 1922. The Miocene of Northern Costa Rica. Bulletins of American Paleontology 9(39):1-309
* W. P. Woodring. 1970. Geology and paleontology of canal zone and adjoining parts of Panama: Description of Tertiary mollusks (gastropods: Eulimidae, Marginellidae to Helminthoglyptidae). United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 306(D):299–452 {{DEFAULTSORT:Leucosyrinx Chloris chloris Gastropods described in 1922