''Reticunassa balteata'' 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
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 ...
mollusc
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 esti ...
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 ...
Nassariidae
The Nassariidae, Nassa mud snails (USA), or dog whelks (UK), are a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda.
"Dog whelk" also refers to ''Nucella lapillus''.
Shell description
T ...
, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.
[MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Reticunassa balteata (Pease, 1869). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=992193 on 2021-09-04]
This is considered a
taxon inquirendum
In biological classification, a ''species inquirenda'' is a species of doubtful identity requiring further investigation. The use of the term in English-language biological literature dates back to at least the early nineteenth century.
The term t ...
.
Description
Distribution
This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
and the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
References
* 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.
* Cernohorsky W.O. (1981). ''Revision of the Australian and New Zealand Tertiary and Recent species of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 18:137-192. [
* Sheppard, A (1984). ''The molluscan fauna of Chagos (Indian Ocean) and an analysis of its broad distribution patterns''. Coral Reefs 3: 43–50.
* Cernohorsky W. O. (1984). ''Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum 14: 1–356.
External links
Pease W. H. (1869). Description of new species of marine Gasteropodæ inhabiting Polynesia. American Journal of Conchology. 5: 64-79
Nassariidae
Gastropods described in 1869
{{Nassariidae-stub