''Nassarius crassiusculus'', 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 ...

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 ...

Nassariidae The Nassariidae, Nassa mud snails (USA), or dog whelks (UK), are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda. "Dog whelk" also refers to ''Nucella lapillus''. Shell description T ...

, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.Bouchet, P. (2015). Nassarius crassiusculus (Nyst, 1845). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=862672 on 2016-05-10

Taxonomy

''Buccinum / Nassarius elegans'' was regarded by Cernohorsky (1984) as a synonym of ''Nassarius comptus''. It is listed in

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as a valid species on the authority of H. Kool. However, as the name ''Buccinum elegans'' Kiener, 1834, is nomenclaturally invalid, it is listed under its replacement name, ''Buccinum / Nassarius crassiusculus''.

Description

The thick shell is ovate, conical, shining and smooth. Its ground color is whitish, ornamented with numerous undulated and reddish longitudinal lines. 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 ...

composed of eight or nine convex

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. The upper ones are plaited, and the others marked at their upper part with white and brown spots or blotches, alternately disposed, and surrounding the suture. A band a little deeper colored covers the body of 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 ...

, the base of which is furnished with pretty distinct transverse striae or furrows, five or six in number. The white

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 ovate, terminated above by a sort of canal, indicated by a transverse ridge upon the left lip. The outer lip is thick, slightly denticulated towards the base, and deeply striated within. The columella is arcuated, the base spirally folded. The left lip covers it, extends slightly upon the body of the shell, and forms a small, projecting keel, terminated by small drops, and a raised point.Kiener (1840). General species and iconography of recent shells : comprising the Massena Museum, the collection of Lamarck, the collection of the Museum of Natural History, and the recent discoveries of travellers; Boston :W.D. Ticknor,1837
(described as ''Buccinum elegans'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

References

* Jarrett, A.G. (2000) ''Marine Shells of the Seychelles''. Carole Green Publishing, Cambridge, xiv + 149 pp. NIZT 682 page(s): 69, fig. 300 * Manganelli G., Spadini V. & Martini I. (2010). ''Rediscovery of an enigmatic Euro-Mediterranean Pliocene nassariid species: ''Nassarius crassiusculu''s Bellardi, 1882 (Gastropoda: Nassariidae)''. Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 49 (3): 195–202

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassarius Crassiusculus Nassariidae Gastropods described in 1845 Molluscs of the Indian Ocean