''Maxacteon hancocki'' is a species of 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 * ...

opisthobranch Opisthobranchs () is now an informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping. Euopisth ...

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

Acteonidae Acteonidae, common name the "barrel bubble snails", is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks of the informal group Lower Heterobranchia.Bouchet, P. (2012). Acteonidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http:/ ...

, the barrel bubble snails.Rosenberg, G. (2014). Maxacteon hancocki Rudman, 1971. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=599180 on 2014-12-12

Description

The length of the shell attains 6 mm. It has a headshield with a pair of fleshy lobes; thin operculum. The white shell shows orange-brown markings at the base and at the apex. It contains a large

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 large columella is slightly twisted. The shell is sculptured with grooves

Distribution

This species is found in moderately deep water off the northern coast of

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, New Zealand.

References

* Powell A W B, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland 1979
The Seaslug forum : maxacteon hancocki

External links

Spencer H.G., Willan R.C., Marshall B.A. & Murray T.J. (2011). Checklist of the Recent Mollusca Recorded from the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone
Acteonidae Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1971 {{Acteonidae-stub