''Clavatula helena'' 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

Clavatulidae Clavatulidae is a taxonomic family of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea. The family is not well differentiated morphologically. Clavatulidae was raised, based on cladistic analysis, from subfamily to the family ...

Description

The size of an adult shell varies between 30 mm and 40 mm. The fusiform shell is moderately long. The ground color of the shell is yellow, superimposed with blotches and streaks of chestnut brown. The space between the sutures is brown in the anterior half. The teleoconch is flattened with a narrow keel posterior to the broad, anal sinus. The anterior half of the teleoconch has between 8 and 12 feeble axial ribs. All over the spire are very fine growth lines. The periphery 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 well rounded. The aperture is elongately oval. The thick outer lip is notched at the anal sinus. The parietal wall shows a very thick callus. 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 very short.Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Bulletin 91 page 20
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Distribution

This marine species occurs in Jeffrey's Bay -

Tsitsikamma The Tsitsikamma National Park is a protected area on the Garden Route, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is a coastal reserve well known for its indigenous forests, dramatic coastline, and the Otter Trail. On 6 March 2009 it was ...

, South Africa

References

* Kilburn, R.N. (1985). ''Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 2. Subfamily Clavatulinae''. Ann. Natal Mus. 26(2), 417–470.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clavatula Helena Endemic molluscs of South Africa

helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

Gastropods described in 1915