''Pseudovertagus aluco'', common name aluco vertagus or Cuming's cerith, 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 ...

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 ...

Cerithiidae, the ceriths.

Distribution

This species is present in the Indo-Pacific from the Eastern Africa to

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, and in Australia (

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

), the Samoan Islands and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

Habitat

''Pseudovertagus aluco'' can be found on sand-bars at the high tide level, on tidalflats, on clean sand and coralrubble.W. O. Cernohorsk
THE TAXONOMY OF SOME INDO-PACIFIC MOLLUSCA WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES
Records of the Auckland Institute and MuseumJenny Sa ¨ lgeback and Enrico Savazz
Constructional morphology of cerithiform gastropods
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Description

Shell of ''Pseudovertagus aluco'' can reach a length of . This species possess high-spired shells with a small aperture and a few spiral rows of tubercles.

Behaviour

These

s usually extend their proboscis and foot deep into the sediments, rather than burrowing below the surface.

References

* Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systemae naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differetiis, synonymis, locis.v. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii 824 pp. * Born, I. von 1778. ''Index rerum naturalium Musei Caesarei Vindobonensis, pl. 1, Testacea.'' – Verzeichniss etc. Illust. Vindobonae. Vienna : J.P. Krauss xlii 458 pp. * Bruguière, M. 1792. ''Encyclopédie Méthodique ou par ordre de matières. Histoire naturelle des vers''. Paris : Panckoucke Vol. 1 i–xviii, 757 pp. * Adams, H. & Adams, A. 1854. ''The genera of Recent Mollusca arranged according to their organization''. London : John Van Voorst Vol. 1(IX-XV) pp. 257–484, pls 33–60. * Sowerby, G.B. 1855. ''Thesaurus Conchyliorum, or monographs of genera of shells.'' London : Sowerby Vol. 2(16) 847–899, pls 176–186. * Kobelt, W. 1898. ''Die Gattung Cerithium Lam''. 201–297, pls 37–47 in Küster, H.C., Martini, F.W. & Chemnitz, J.H. (eds). Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Nürnberg : Bauer & Raspe Vol. 1. * Thiele, J. 1931. ''Handbuch der Systematischen Weichtierkunde''. Jena : Gustav Fischer Vol. 2 pp. 377–778. * Hirase, S. & Taki, I. 1951. ''A handbook of illustrated shells in natural colors from the Japanese Islands and adjacent territories.'' Tokyo : Bunkyokaku xxiv, 134 pp. * Wilson, B.R. & Gillett, K. 1971. ''Australian Shells: illustrating and describing 600 species of marine gastropods found in Australian waters.'' Sydney : Reed Books 168 pp. * Cernohorsky, W.O. 1972. ''The taxonomy of some Indo-Pacific Mollusca with descriptions of new species.'' Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 9: 195–204 * Houbrick, R.S. 1978. ''The family Cerithiidae in the Indo-Pacific. Part I. The genera Rhinoclavis, Pseudovertagus and Clavocerithium.'' Monographs of Marine Mollusca 1: 1–130 * Wilson, B. 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp.

External links

CERITHIIDAE

Shell Encyclopedia
*

Bibliography

* Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). ''Contribution à l'étude de la faune de Madagascar: Mollusca marina testacea''. Faune des colonies françaises, III(fasc. 4). Société d'Editions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales: Paris. 321–636, plates IV-VII pp. * Petit R.E. (2009) ''George Brettingham Sowerby, I, II & III: their conchological publications and molluscan taxa''. Zootaxa 2189: 1–218. {{Taxonbar, from=Q7255703 Cerithiidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus