''Vaughtia fenestrata'' is a species of

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 in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.

Description

The length of the shell attains 17 mm. (Described as ''Cominella puncturata'') The shell is elongated, rather thin, pale yellow, sometimes brown, with a pale band. The spire is elevated and acute. The six

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 are sloping above, then bi-angulated and spirally ribbed throughout. The ribs are numerous, but very slightly raised. The interstices are punctured. 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 ...

is convex, scarcely angulated and attenuated below. The aperture is ovate and moderately wide. The

siphonal canal The siphonal canal is an anatomical feature of the shells of certain groups of sea snails within the clade Neogastropoda. Some sea marine gastropods have a soft tubular anterior extension of the mantle called a siphon through which water is ...

is short and slightly recurved. Sowerby, G. B. III. (1886). Marine shells of South Africa collected at Port Elizabeth, with descriptions of some new species. Journal of Conchology. 5(1): 1-13
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

References

* Turton, W. H. (1932). Marine Shells of Port Alfred, South Africa. Humphrey Milford, London, xvi + 331 pp., 70 pls. * Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector's Guide to Beached Shells. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. * Lussi M. (2012) Description of three new species of Vaughtia from off the Eastern Cape, South Africa with a revision of the genus (Gastropoda: Prosobranchia: Muricidae) from Southern Madagascar. Malacologia Mostra Mondiale 76: 5-13. * Houart, R.; Kilburn, R. N. & Marais, A. P. (2010). Muricidae. pp. 176-270, in: Marais A.P. & Seccombe A.D. (eds), Identification guide to the seashells of South Africa. Volume 1. Groenkloof: Centre for Molluscan Studies. 376 pp.

External links

Gould, A. A. (1860). Descriptions of new shells collected by the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 7: 323-336

Philippi, R. A. (1845-1847). Abbildungen und Beschreibungen neuer oder wenig gekannter Conchylien. Zweiter Band. 2. Cassel: Fischer. 1-231, pls. 1-48.

Houart, R. (1995). Pterymarchia n. gen. and Vaughtia n. gen., two new muricid genera (Gastropoda: Muricidae: Muricinae and Ocenebrinae). Apex. 10 (4): 127-136
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughtia Fenestrata

fenestrata Fenestrata is an extinct order of bryozoan, dating from the Upper Arenig In geology, the Arenig (or Arenigian) is a time interval during the Ordovician period and also the suite of rocks which were deposited during this interval. History T ...

Gastropods described in 1860