''Zafrona lightfooti'' 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 Columbellidae
The Columbellidae, the dove snails or dove shells, are a family of minute to small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the order Neogastropoda.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Columbellidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) Wo ...
, the dove snails.
[
MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Zafrona lightfooti (E. A. Smith, 1901). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=511651 on 2023-10-16
]
Description
The length of the shell attains 6 mm, its diameter 2.5 mm.
(Original description) This small species has an ovate-fusiform shape. It contains five
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. It is well characterized by the style of coloration and the transverse sulcate
sculpture. The interrupted transverse lines fall upon the slightly raised ridges between the sulci, and the interruptions are so regular that the shell presents series of short lines one under another. The grooving upon the anterior end of 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 finer than that above.
Smith, E. A. (1901). On South African marine shells, with descriptions of new species. Journal of Conchology. 10: 104–116, 1 pl
/ref>
Distribution
This marine species occurs off South Africa
References
* Turton, W. H. (1932). The marine shells of Port Alfred S. Africa. Humphrey Milford, London. pp. i-xvi, 1–331, pls 1-70.
* Kilburn R.N. & Marais J.P. (2010) Columbellidae. pp. 60–104, 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
Conchology.be: image
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14525358
lightfooti
Gastropods described in 1901