''Marginella huberti'' 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 ...

of colorful small

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 Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 ...

mollusc 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 esti ...

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 ...

Marginellidae Marginellidae, or the margin shells, are a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of small, often colorful, sea snails, Marine (ocean), marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Neogastropoda. Taxonomy The higher classification of ...

Distribution

This species occurs in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

, south

central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

Shell description

The shell is 17 to 27 mm in length, 10 to 16 mm in greatest diameter, with a low conical spire and an indistinct suture. The outer lip is thickened, and strongly reflected outward, with a sharp edge overhanging the exterior of the body

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 ...

. The inside of the lip of the shell has 15-25 small irregular denticles, plus one very strong isolated denticle near its posterior end. The

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 quite high for the genus, and it narrows both anteriorly and posteriorly. The first two apical whorls are pale brown. The remainder of the shell is beige with tiny ash-grey dots arranged in spiral rows and looser wavy axial lines. There are small dark blotches serially arranged along the suture, and a larger series of crescentic blotches just above the shoulder of the body whorl. The areas between the shoulder and the suture, and along a band on the anterior part of the body whorl, are darker with blurred blotches; some darker blotches or flames are also sometimes visible on the middle part of the body whorl. The outer lip has 15 to 25 dark grey streaks, often clustered in groups of 2 or 3, and mostly visible on the outermost, reflected part of the lip.

Type material

Type locality

Baía dos Elefantes, Benguela, in 15 fathoms (27m).

Habitat

In shell gravel or mixed sediments around rocky areas, at 10 to 100m.

Color and patterns

File:Marginella huberti 001.jpg, File:MarginellaHuberti_2.jpg, File:MarginellaHuberti_3.jpg, File:MarginellaHuberti_4.jpg,

References

* BMNH British Museum (Natural History), London * Clover, Philip 1972. Two new species of Marginellidae from West Africa. Journal of Conchology 27:503-04, pl. XIX * Gofas, Serge and Francisco Fernandes 1994. The Marginellidae of Angola: The genus ''Marginella''. Journal of Conchology 35:103-119 {{Taxonbar, from=Q6760488 Endemic fauna of Angola Marginellidae Gastropods described in 1972