''Cymbiola imperialis'', the imperial volute, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
sea snail
Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...
, a marine
gastropod
Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
of the genus
Cymbiola in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Volutidae, the volutes.
Subspecies
* ''C. imperialis robinsona''
Burch, 1954 (Robinson's volute, southern Philippines)
Description
Shells of ''Cymbiola imperialis'' can reach a size of .
These large and glossy shells are elongate and fusiform, light to heavy in weight. The basic color is whitish. The spire is high, with canaliculate sutures, strong red-brown axial ribs and narrow red-brown spiral lines. The aperture is whitish, elongate-ovate, with the outer lip showing many black denticles. The operculum is dark brown, thick and small.
Distribution
This species can be found in the Philippines,
Sulu Sea
The Sulu Sea (; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; ; ) is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipela ...
.
[Claudio Gall]
WMSDB - Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base
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References
Bibliography
* A. P. H. Oliver, James Nicholls ''The Hamlyn Guide to Shells of the World'' paperback
* A. Robin ''Encyclopedia of Marine Gastropods''
* Alan Hinton ''Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific''
* Bail P. & Poppe G.T. 2001. ''A conchological iconography: a taxonomic introduction of the recent Volutidae''. ConchBooks, Hackenheim. 30 pp, 5 pl.
* Doute, Harald ''Volutes, the Doute collection''
* Graham Saunders ''Spotter's Guide to Shells: An Introduction to Seashells of the World'' 1st American edition
* Jerome M. Eisenberg ''A Collector's Guide to Seashells of the World''
* Kenneth R. Wye ''Encyclopedia of Shells''
* Masuoki Horikoshi ''Sea Shells of the World'' Japanese edition (Japanese) paperback – 1989
* R.Tucker Abbott & S. Peter Dance ''Compendium of Seashells'' 2nd printing 1983 revision
* Springsteen, F and F. M. Leobrera ''Shells of the Philippines''
External links
Conchology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cymbiola Imperialis
Volutidae
Gastropods described in 1786
Molluscs of the Philippines