''Margarites argentatus'' is a

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 ...

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 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 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 ...

Margaritidae Margaritidae is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Trochoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Bouchet, P. (2012). Margaritidae. Accessed through: World Register ...

. ''Margarites argentatus'' var. ''gigantea'' Leche, 1878 is accepted as '' Margarites giganteus'' (Leche, 1878)

Description

The height of the shell attains 3.5 mm. The small, thin shell is narrowly umbilicate. The

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 are ...

is globose-depressed, and conoidal. It is subtransparent, corneous or bluish white in color. The surface is lusterless and dull. It is closely marked all over by fine, close-set spiral striae, scarcely visible except under a lens. The blunt apex minute. The four

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 are tumid. The suture is deeply impressed. The circular

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is oblique. The outer lip is simple and acute. The inner lip is arcuate, a trifle reflexed. The narrow umbilicus is deep.Tryon (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off the west coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and in the northwest

Atlantic Ocean 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 ...

References

* Gould, A. A. 1841. ''Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts''. xiii + 373 pp. Commissioners on the Zoological and Botanical Survey of the State: Cambridge, Massachusetts. * Leche, W. 1878. ''Öfversigt öfver de af Svenska Expeditionerna till Novaja Semlja och Jenissej 1875 och 1876 Insamlade: Hafs-Mollusker.'' Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar (2)16(2): 1-86, pls. 1–2. * Hayward, P.J.; Ryland, J.S. (Ed.) (1990). T''he marine fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe: 1. Introduction and protozoans to arthropods''. Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK. . 627 pp. * Trott, T.J. 2004. ''Cobscook Bay inventory: a historical checklist of marine invertebrates spanning 162 years''. Northeastern Naturalist (Special Issue 2): 261 - 324. * Turgeon, D.D., et al. 1998. ''Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates of the United States and Canada''. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26 page(s): 60 {{DEFAULTSORT:Margarites Argentatus argentatus Gastropods described in 1841