''Nepotilla minuta'', common name the minute turrid, 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 ...

mollusk in the family

Raphitomidae Raphitomidae is a family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.) (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families". '' Malacologia'' 47(1-2). . 3 ...

. ''Daphnella minuta'' Verco, 1909 is a synonym of '' Nepotilla mimica'' (Sowerby III, 1896), according to Hedley (1922).

Description

The length of the shell attains 6 mm. (Original description) The minute shell is fusiform, turreted, elongate and thin. It is saturated with a reddish chestnut. It contains 6 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, including the

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

. They are spirally many keeled and between the keels thickly and slenderly longitudinally lirate. The protoconch consists of two subinflated whorls which are spirally and equally striate. The aperture is shorter than the spire, elongately ovate. The outer lip is thin and sinuous. The inner lip is inconspicuous. Tenison-Woods, J.E. 1877. ''On some new Tasmanian marine shells''. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 1876: 131-159

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

References

* Sowerby, G.B. (3rd) 1897. ''List of Pleurotomidae of South Australia, with descriptions of some new species.'' Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London 2: 24-32 * Tate, R. & May, W.L. 1901. ''A revised census of the marine Mollusca of Tasmania.'' Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 26(3): 344-471 * May, W.L. 1923. ''An Illustrated Index of Tasmanian Shells: with 47 plates and 1052 species.'' Hobart : Government Printer 100 pp.

External links

*
Grove, S.J. (2018). A Guide to the Seashells and other Marine Molluscs of Tasmania: ''Nepotilla minuta''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepotilla Minuta

minuta This list of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names is intended to help those unfamiliar with classical languages to understand and remember the scientific names of organisms. The binomial nomenclature used for animals and plants i ...

Gastropods described in 1877 Gastropods of Australia