''Nassarius pyrrhus'', common name the red-banded nassa, is a 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 ...

, 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

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 pyrrhus (Menke, 1843). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=572154 on 2016-05-11

Description

The length of the shell varies between 14 mm and 22 mm. The shell is ovate and conical. The spire is short, pointed, composed of seven or eight convex whorls. These are noduled at their upper part, ornamented upon their whole external surface with slightly undulated longitudinal folds. Often the folds upon 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 ...

disappear partially upon the edge of the outer lip, and this whorl presents at its base a few striae which intersect the folds crosswise, and thus form granulations. The whitish aperture is subrotund and a little narrowed above. The thick outer lip is accompanied by a slightly prominent external varix. The internal part of the lip is marked with numerous fine striae.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 jacksonianum'')

Distribution

This species is endemic to Australia and occurs off New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia.

References

* Menke, C.T. 1843. ''Molluscorum Novae Hollandiae Specimen in Libraria Aulica Hahniana. Hannoverae'' : Libraria Aulica Hahniana pp. 1–46 * Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de M. 1822. ''Histoire naturelle des Animaux sans Vertèbres''. Paris : J.B. Lamarck Vol. 7 711 pp. * Adams, A. 1852. Catalogue of the species of Nassa, a genus of Gasteropodous Mollusca, belonging to the family Buccinidae, in the Collection of Hugh Cuming, Esq., with the description of some new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1851(19): 94–112 * Iredale, T. 1915. ''A comparison of the land Molluscan faunas of the Kermadec Group and Norfolk Island.'' Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 47: 498–508 * Cernohorsky W.O. (1981). ''Revision of the Australian and New Zealand Tertiary and Recent species of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 18:137–192 * Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q13877185 Nassariidae Gastropods described in 1843 Gastropods of Australia