''Sinezona levigata'' is a species of minute

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 Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 ...

micromollusc A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also r ...

in the family Scissurellidae, the little slit shells.WoRMS : Sinezona levigata
accessed : 21 October 2010

Description

This species differs from ''

Sinezona brevis ''Sinezona brevis'' is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Scissurellidae.Bouchet, P. (2013). Sinezona brevis (Hedley, 1904). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/a ...

'' in the degree of sculpture. At first sight it would appear a very different shell, but when closely examining the sculpture, it is seen to be the same. The longitudinal ribs have greatly deteriorated in strength, whilst the spirals have gained. 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 ...

descends much more rapidly than in ''Sinezona brevis'', whilst the earlier whorls are smaller. This combination gives an entirely different appearance to the shell, which is further strengthened by the fact that the fasciole is very little longer than the foramen. The thin operculum is horny and multispiral. The colour of the shell is cream. Dead shells are pure white.Suter H. (1913-1915), Manual of new Zealand Mollusca; Wellington, N. Z. :J. Mackay, govt. printer,1913-1915
/ref>

Distribution

This marine species occurs off New Zealand.

References

* Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 * Geiger D.L. (2012) ''Monograph of the little slit shells. Volume 1. Introduction, Scissurellidae. pp. 1-728. Volume 2. Anatomidae, Larocheidae, Depressizonidae, Sutilizonidae, Temnocinclidae''. pp. 729–1291. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Monographs Number 7

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5228769 Scissurellidae Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1927