''Lopheliella moolenbeeki'' 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 Skeneidae
The Skeneidae are a speciose family of minute to small marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Trochoidea.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2013). Skeneidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php ...
.
It was named for Robert G. Moolenbeek, a Dutch
malacologist.
Description
''L. moolenbeeki'' has a height of 1.9 mm and a width of 1.8 mm. Its shell has a smooth appearance and its honeycomb patterned
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 nearly identical to that of ''
L. rockallensis''.
Distribution
''L. moolenbeeki'' can be found at depths of around 557 to 767 meters. It is only known to exist on the southeastern flank of the
Rockall Bank in the
North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
, off the coast of
Ireland (N55°44, W15°78).
References
* Hoffman L., Van Heugten B., and Lavaleye M. S. S. (2008
"A new genus with four new species in the family Skeneidae (Gastropoda) from the Rockall Bank, northeastern Atlantic Ocean".''Miscellanea Malacologica'' 3: pp. 39–48
moolenbeeki
Gastropods described in 2008
{{Trochoidea-stub