''Nassarius globosus'', common name the globose nassa, 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.

Description

The length of the shell varies between 9 mm and 28 mm. The small shell is ovate, thick and slightly gibbous. 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 short and pointed. It is composed of six slightly convex whorls, covered with longitudinal folds and very approximate transverse striae, which form flattened granulations. 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 very large. The ovate

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 emarginated at the upper part, at its union with the outer lip, which is rather thin, and striated internally. The columella is arcuated, covered by the inner lip, which is enlarged into a whitish, wide, and thick callosity, upon the body of the lbody whorl. The color of this shell is of a reddish brown, with one or two transverse bands upon the middle of the body whorl.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 clathratum'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Eastern Indian Ocean off

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

; off

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and off many islands in the Western Pacific; off

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the island group ...

and Australia (

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

References

* Habe, T. & Kosuge, S. 1966. ''New genera and species of the tropical and subtropical Pacific molluscs.'' Venus 24(4): 312–341 * Spry, J.F. (1961). ''The sea shells of Dar es Salaam: Gastropods.'' Tanganyika Notes and Records 56 * Cernohorsky, W.O. 1991. ''Mollusca Gastropoda: On a collection of Nassariidae from New Caledonian waters.'' Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Section A. Zoologie. Series A Zoologie, Tome 150 7: 187–204 * Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.

External links

Quoy, J.C.R. & Gaimard, P. (1833) ''Mollusques.'' In Dumont d’Urville, M.J. (Ed.) Voyage de Découverts de l’Astrolabe, Éxécuté par Ordre du Roi Pendant les Années 1826–1827–1828–1829, sous le Commandement de M. J. Dumont d' Urville. Zoologie, Tome 2. J. Tatsu

Kiener L.C. (1834-1841). Spécies général et iconographie des coquilles vivantes. Vol. 9. Famille des Purpurifères. Deuxième partie. Genres Colombelle, (Columbella), Lamarck, pp. 1-63, pl. 1-16 [pp. 1-63 (1841); pl. 2-4, 6, 8, 11 (1840), 1, 5, 7, 9-10, 12-16 (1841)
Buccin (Buccinum), Adanson, pp. 1-112 + table with duplicate page numbers 105-108, pl. 1-31 [pp. 1-64 (1834), 65-104 and 105-108 of table (1835), 105-112 of text (1841); pl. 1-24 (1834), 25-29 (1835), 30-31 (1841); Eburne (Eburna), Lamarck, pp. 1-8, pl. 1-3]
Cernohorsky, W.O. 1984. ''Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Auckland, New Zealand 14: 1–356
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q6967464 Nassariidae Gastropods described in 1833