''Pyrene obtusa'' 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 ...

Columbellidae The Columbellidae, the dove snails or dove shells, are a family of minute to small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the order Neogastropoda.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Columbellidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) Wo ...

, the dove snails.

Description

The shell size varies between 11 mm and 18 mm The small shell is pretty thin, ovate, conical and smooth. It is of a diaphanous white. The sutures are indistinctly apparent. The

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

is composed of six 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, ornamented at their base with spots of a duller white. The

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. In gastropods In gastropods, the b ...

is as large as all the others, striated at base, and surrounded, towards the middle, with small, distant spots, articulated by a reddish line. The

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

is ovate. The outer lip denticulated within, and thickened outwardly, even to the base of the shell.Kiener (1840). General species and iconography of recent shells : comprising the Massena Museum, the collection of Lamarck, the collection of the Museum of Natural History, and the recent discoveries of travellers; Boston :W.D. Ticknor,1837
(described as ''Buccinum lacteum'')

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

and in the Indo-West Pacific; off Australia (

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_ ...

)

References

* Sowerby, G.B. (1st) 1832. ''Descriptions of new species of shells collected by Mr. Cuming.'' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1832(2): 113–120 * Duclos, P.L. 1840. ''Histoire naturelle generale et particuliere de tous genres de coquilles univalves marines a l'état vivant et fossile publiee par monographie. Genre Columbelle.'' Paris : Didot. * Souverbie, M. & Montrouzier, R.P. 1865. ''Descriptions d'espèces nouvelles de l'Archipel Calédonien.'' Journal de Conchyliologie 13: 150–159, pl. 5 * Schmeltz, J.D.K. 1874. ''Museum Godeffroy Catalog 5''. Hamburg : L. Friederichsen & Co. 215 pp. * Drivas, J. & Jay, M. 1990. ''The Columbellidae of Réunion Island (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Annals of the Natal Museum 31: 163–200 * Michel, C. (1988). ''Marine molluscs of Mauritius''. Editions de l'Ocean Indien. Stanley, Rose Hill. Mauritius * Wilson, B. 1994. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. * Kilburn R.N. & Marais J.P. (2010) Columbellidae. Pp. 60-104, in: Marais A.P. & Seccombe A.D. (eds), Identification guide to the seashells of South Africa. Volume 1. Groenkloof: Centre for Molluscan Studies. 376 pp.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyrene Obtusa Columbellidae Gastropods described in 1832