''Modelia granosa'', common name the southern cat's eye, is a medium to large
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 ...
which has a shell with a pearly interior and a calcareous
operculum. It is 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 Turbinidae, the turban snails.
[Marshall, B.; Rosenberg, G. (2014). Modelia granosa (Martyn, 1784). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=413417 on 2014-09-02]
Description
The size of the shell varies between 25 mm and 80 mm.
The orbiculate, imperforate shell has a depressed-conic shape. It is, pinkish yellow, unicolored, or clouded with purplish or brown. The seven
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 rounded, the upper two smooth, the others closely minutely granulose in regular spiral series. The
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 ...
is rounded and descending. The subcircular
aperture is white and iridescent within. The white
columella is wide, subexcavated in the center. The thin callus is shining and rose-tinted.
The ovate
operculum is flat within, with 5-6 whorls and a subcentral nucleus. On its outside it is white, thick, subgibbous, and minutely tuberculate
at its center, subcanaliculate at its periphery.
G.W. Tryon (1888), Manual of Conchology X; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
(described as ''Turbo granosus'')
Distribution
It is only known to occur in New Zealand.
Notes
Additional information regarding this species:
References
*
* Williams S.T., Karube S. & Ozawa T. (2008) ''Molecular systematics of Vetigastropoda: Trochidae, Turbinidae and Trochoidea redefined''. Zoologica Scripta 37: 483–506.
* Alf A. & Kreipl K. (2003). A Conchological Iconography: The Family Turbinidae, Subfamily Turbininae, Genus Turbo. Conchbooks, Hackenheim Germany
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3139147
granosa
Gastropods of New Zealand
Gastropods described in 1784