''Trochus intextus'' 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 ...
Trochidae
The Trochidae, common name top-snails or top-shells, are a family of various sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subclass Vetigastropoda. This family is commonly known as the top-snails because in many species the shell resemb ...
, the top snails.
[Rosenberg, G. (2014). Trochus intextus Kiener, 1850. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=742894 on 2014-06-16]
Description
The size of the shell varies between 20 mm and 30 mm. The thick, solid shell has a rather straightly conical shape and is falsely umbilicate. The outlines of the nearly rectilinear
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 ...
are nearly straight with an acute
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, ...
. The shell contains about eight
whorls. The
body whorl is obtusely angulated at the periphery. The
sutures are scarcely impressed. The color of the upper surface grayish or corneous white, broadly longitudinally striped with red or purplish, the red sometimes covering the whole surface, sometimes reduced to small maculations or narrow lines. The base of the shell contains narrow zigzag radiating red stripes. 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 ...
of the upper surface consists of spiral series of very regular, deeply, separated rounded granules or beads, five or six rows on each whorl. On the periphery and base the granules are smaller. On the base of the shell the rows are more separated, and sometimes have minute intercalated beaded lirae. In the interstices; there are 12 to 15 rows of beads on the entire body whorl. 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 ...
is small, strongly lirate inside 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 ...
. The dentate basal margin is thick. The parietal wall is callous, strongly lirate, deep crimson colored. 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 oblique, irregularly 3 or 4 dentate. The umbilical tract contains a heavy white callus inside and is obsoletely spirally bi- or triplicate.
H. Pilsbry, Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
(described as ''Trochus sandwichensis'')
Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Western Pacific Ocean and off Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
References
* Kiener, Spec. gen. Trochus, t. 87, f. 2., 1850
External links
*
Souleyet, L. F. A. (1852). Tome Deuxième. Mollusques. In: Eydoux, F.; Souleyet, L. F. A. (1841-1852). Voyage autour du monde exécuté pendant les années 1836 et 1837 sur la corvette La Bonite. Zoologie. 664 pp., 101 pls
Reeve, L. A. (1861-1862). Monograph of the genus Trochus. In: Conchologia Iconica, or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 13, pl. 1-47 and unpaginated text. L. Reeve & Co., London.
Kay, E.A. (1979) ''Hawaiian marine shells. Reef and shore fauna of Hawaii. Section 4: Mollusca''. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Special Publications, 64, xviii + 1–653. page(s): 52
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3734688
intextus
Gastropods described in 1850