''Pleurotomella bureaui'' 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). . 39 ...

Description

The length of the shell attains 8.4 mm, its diameter 3.6 mm. The minute shell has a pale buff color with a brown ''Sinusigera''

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 ...

of three

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 and four subsequent well rounded whorls. The suture is appressed with a fine thread in front of it;.0 The

anal sulcus The anal sulcus, also called the anal sinus or anal canal, in Gastropods is a notch, a shelly tube at the top of the aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and fo ...

is wide and shallow, leaving a wide fasciole, arcuately striated behind it. In front of the fasciole there is an obscure shoulder to the whorl. The axial sculpture consists of incremental lines, most conspicuous on the fasciole, and a double row of obscure undulations at the periphery, most marked on the earlier whorls. The spiral sculpture consists of 10 or 12 equal, small threads in front of the periphery with narrow interspaces. The base of the shell is evenly rounded. 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 wide. The columella is straight, attenuated in front. The aperture is ovate. The outer lip is thin and arcuate. Dall W. H. (1927). Small shells from dredgings off the southeast coast of the United States by the United States Fisheries Steamer "Albatross", in 1885 and 1886; Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 70(18): 1-134
(described as ''Mangilia sericifila'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the North Atlantic Ocean off Georgia, USA, and the Azores.

References

* Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca. in: Costello, M.J. et al. (eds), European Register of Marine Species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Patrimoines Naturels. 50: 180-213

External links

Dautzenberg P. & Fischer H. (1897). Dragages effectués par l'Hirondelle et par la Princesse Alice 1888-1896. Mémoires de la Société Zoologique de France. 139-234; pl. 3-7
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleurotomella Bureaui bureaui Gastropods described in 1897