''Spectamen semireticulatum'' 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 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 ...

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 ...

.Rosenberg, G. (2012). ''Solariella semireticulata'' (Suter, 1908). Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=598240 on 2012-12-03

Description

(Original description by H. Suter) The height of the shell attains 3.2 mm, its diameter 5 mm. The small, thin and fragile, umbilicate shell has a depressed turbinate shape. It is spirally lirate. 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 sc ...

consistis of numerous slightly elevated and rounded spiral cinguli; 6 on the penultimate, about 16 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 ...

. Those on the upper surface show a fine spiral thread in the interstices, which are of about the same width as the riblets. The cinguli on the outer side of the base are finer and closer together. On the inner side 3 broad slightly crenulated ribs surround the umbilicus, which is also prominently spirally ribbed. The 2 cinguli below the suture are crossed and beaded by strong and sharp equidistant radiate riblets, dividing the interstices into regular squares. The remainder of the

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 fine growth lines. The colour of the shell is whitish, light horny. 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 low, with convex outlines, very little higher than 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 ...

. The apex is rather blunt. The

protoconch A protoconch (meaning first or earliest or original shell) is an embryonic or larval shell which occurs in some classes of molluscs, e.g., the initial chamber of an ammonite or the larval shell of a gastropod. In older texts it is also called ...

is small, globular and consists of one smooth and convex whorl. The four whorls increase rather rapidly. They are somewhat flattened below the suture, then convex. The base of the shell is convex. The suture is subcanaliculate. The aperture is circular and slightly iridescent within. The peristome is sharp, the ends approaching and nearly meeting. They are united by a white parietal callosity. The columella is vertical, arcuate, and slightly expanded. The umbilicus is about one-third of the diameter, deep and scalar. Suter H. (1913-1915), Manual of New Zealand Mollusca; Wellington, N. Z. :J. Mackay, govt. printer,1913-1915
(described as ''Monilea semireticulata'')

Distribution

This marine species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to New Zealand and occurs off

Snares Island The Snares Islands / Tini Heke, known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about 200 km south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snares consist of the ma ...

at a depth of 91 m.

References

* Powell, A.W.B. 1979: New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells. Collins, Auckland 500p * Marshall, B.A. 1999: A revision of the Recent Solariellinae (Gastropoda: Trochoidea) of the New Zealand region. The Nautilus 113: 4-42

External links

To Biodiversity Heritage Library (1 publication)

To World Register of Marine Species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7557010 semireticulatum Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1908