''Neptunea lyrata'', also known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s New England Neptune, wrinkled whelk, ribbed Neptune, inflated whelk, lyre whelk or lyre Neptune, 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 ...

of large

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 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 ...

mollusk 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 e ...

in the family

Buccinidae The Buccinidae are a very large and diverse taxonomic family of large sea snails, often known as whelks or true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Buccinidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. A ...

, and is the state shell of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. This species consists of several

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. The New England Neptune (''Neptunea lyrata decemcostata'') was declared the state seashell of

in 1987.

Subspecies

* ''Neptunea lyrata altispira'' * ''Neptunea lyrata lyrata'' Gmelin, 1791 - lyre whelk * ''Neptunea lyrata decemcostata'' (

Say Say may refer to: Music *''Say'' (album), 2008 album by J-pop singer Misono * "Say" (John Mayer song), 2007 *"Say (All I Need)", 2007 song by American pop rock band OneRepublic * "Say" (Method Man song), 2006 single by rapper Method Man * "Say" ( ...

, 1826) – wrinkled whelk or New England Neptune – synonyms:''Neptunea lyrata decemcostata'' (Say, 1826)
Malacolog Version 4.1.1. A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. Accessed 13 December 2009. ''Chrysodomus decemcostata'' (Say, 1826); ''Tritonium decemcostata'' (Say, 1826); ''Fusus decemcostatus'' Say, 1826; ''Neptunea turnerae'' Clarke, 1956 * ''Neptunea lyrata turnerae'' Clarke, 1956

Distribution

''Neptunea lyrata'' occurs in the Western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

References

External links

''Neptunea lyrata''
at

National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...

website
image of ''Neptunea lyrata decemcostata''

Buccinidae Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin {{Buccinidae-stub