''Spectamen philippense'' 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 small

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 ...

Solariellidae Solariellidae is a family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Trochoidea (according to the taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005).Gofas, S. (2011). Solariellidae. Accessed through: World Register of ...

Description

The size of the shell attains 8 mm. The shell has a trochiform shape with a broad base, more conical and less scalar, with a large open umbilicus and brilliant color. Sculpture: the shell is gathered into small regular flat puckers below the suture. These are weaker on 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 ...

. The whole surface is covered with very fine oblique longitudinal striae. Spirals: there are very numerous fine, sharp, undulating scratches, which on the middle of the base are shallower and wider apart, but toward the umbilicus again become sharper and more crowded. Within the umbilicus are four or five somewhat beaded spirals, the first and strongest of which forms an umbilical carina. The color of the shell is faintly iridescent all over, creamy white, flecked with zigzag lines of crimson, which on the upper whorls are narrow and regular, on the penultimate whorl are remote, and on the last are irregular, broken and crowded. On the base there are eleven to twelve elongated radiating crimson spots. The first three whorls are a pale orange-yellow. 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 rather high, scalar. The apex is small, bluntly pointed. The 6½

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 show a flat shelf below the suture, angulated at about one-fifth of their breadth, and rounded from the angulation to the suture. The body whorl is bluntly angulated at the edge of the rounded base. The suture is strong, being slightly impressed and very distinctly marked by the angle at which the adjoining whorls meet. The round

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 a little oblique. The outer lip is thin and sharp, not at all expanded. The inner lip is thin and sharp, a very little patulous on the columella, where it also retreats a little, so as to form a slight open sinus. The shell is brilliantly iridescent within. The umbilicus is wide and pervious, and deeply impressed at the suture, which runs spirally up to the apex within.Tryon (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
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Distribution

This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off

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_ ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

References

* Watson, R.B. 1880. ''Mollusca of "H.M.S. Challenger" expedition. Part V. Families Solenoconchia, Trochidae, Heterophrosynidae, Litorinidae, Cerithiidae''. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 15: 87–126 * Iredale, T. 1929. ''Mollusca from the continental shelf of eastern Australia. No. 2.'' Records of the Australian Museum 17(4): 157–189, pls 38–41 * Iredale, T. & McMichael, D.F. 1962. ''A reference list of the marine Mollusca of New South Wales.'' Memoirs of the Australian Museum 11: 1–109 * Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. 1962. ''Marine Molluscs of Victoria''. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press & National Museum of Victoria 475 pp * Wilson, B. 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods''. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp. * Williams S.T., Karube S. & Ozawa T. (2008) ''Molecular systematics of Vetigastropoda: Trochidae, Turbinidae and Trochoidea redefined''. Zoologica Scripta 37: 483–506.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spectamen Philippense philippense Gastropods of Australia Gastropods described in 1881