''Solariella charopa'' 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, a marine gastropod

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 group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Solariellidae.

Description

The height of the shell is 1.95 cm (0.77-inch), its diameter 1.98 cm (0.78-inch). The thin, translucent, umbilicated shell has a globosely conical shape. It is banded and iridescent. The

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

shows spiral threads numbering from twenty-five to thirty-five, sharply projecting, rounded, and fine on the body whorl. Of these, there are from three to seven feebler than the rest. Those on the base are continued within 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 ...

. The interstices are much broader than the threads. The whole surface is also fretted by microscopic spirals and stronger longitudinals, which follow the oblique lines of growth. Of the threads, six to thirteen appear on the penultimate whorl. They begin with the second whorl, and there the longitudinals are rather disproportionately strong and regular. The embryonic

apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex, ...

is faintly but coarsely tubercled. The color of the shell is yellowish white, shot on the upper side with a dark iridescence. The spirals are black, clouded, and broken with oblique longitudinal streaks of white. 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 a ...

is high and scalar. The apex, porcelanous and scarcely iridescent, is small, high, and mammillate, and consists of the one embryonic whorl, which is a little turned up on its side. The six whorls increase gradually and regularly in size. They are rounded, near the apex a little angulated by one of the spirals. The suture well marked, angulated, but not sharply so. The aperture is rather oblique, rounded, hardly angulated at the upper corner, not in the least descending, brilliantly iridescent within and showing the colored spirals of the outside. The outer

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is thin, slightly puckered at the spirals, a little thickened on the base. The inner lip is thickened and reflected, especially at its junction with the body where it almost covers the umbilicus. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

is much curved, and thins gradually out to its junction with the base. The umbilicus is large and funnel-shaped on the base, deep, but small further in, contracted by a spiral white columellar pad, and more than half covered over by the columellar lip. The operculum is rather thin, horny, yellow, with ten or twelve very gradual turns, which are strongly defined by a thickened line. It is feebly marked with concentric and with radiating lines.Tryon (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off the Kerguelen Islands.

References

* Watson, Jour. Linn. Soc. Lond. xiv, p. 700 ; Challenger Gasterop., p. 78, t. 5, f. 6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Solariella Charopa charopa Gastropods described in 1879