''Oenopota tabulata'' 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 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 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 ...

Mangeliidae Mangeliidae is a monophyletic family of small to medium-sized, predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. Bouchet, P. (2011). Mangeliidae P. Fischer, 1883. In: MolluscaBase (2016). Accessed through: World Regis ...

Description

The length of the shell attains 11 mm, its diameter 5 mm. The small, stout shell is strongly shouldered and coarsely cancellated. The color of the shell is a dull dark-red. The shell contains five

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. These are rectangularly tabulated. The suture is impressed. The shell shows about 16 longitudinal, obtuse ribs These become almost obsolete at the base of the shell. The spiral

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

consists of about 3–4 narrow ribs on each whorl. The crossings with the longitudinal ribs are nodose. The subquadratic interstices are deeply impressed. The

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

is short and open. The outer lip is sharp and slightly sinuate at the posterior end. The columella is abnormally twisted. In fully adult specimens there is sometimes a thickening near the anterior end of the columella which in some individuals approaches a fold, but is not carried into the interior on the columella.Dall (1919) Descriptions of new species of Mollusca from the North Pacific Ocean; Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, vol. 56 (1920)

Distribution

This marine species occurs from

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

, Alaska, to Monterey, California, USA.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oenopota Tabulata tabulata Gastropods described in 1864 Taxa named by Philip Pearsall Carpenter