''Spergo'' is a

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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 ...

s, 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 ...

s 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 ...

Raphitomidae Raphitomidae is a Family (biology), family of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.) (2005). "Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families" ...

Description

The large, thin shell is nearly destitute of

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. It shows an unrecurved

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, a short, wide, straight

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 i ...

, a wide shallow emargination representing the anal notch, and generally feeble anal fasciole, except in the very young. There is a sharp outer

lip The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...

, unarmed

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

, and a sinusigera protoconch. The animal has a muzzle formed by a stout squarely truncated rostrum opening into a capacious pharynx, provided internally with a degenerate proboscis not capable of extrusion beyond the oral orifice, with a poison gland and a degenerate radula. Eyes are present and functional. The tentacles are low-seated, stout, and clavate. The operculum is absent. The dentition resembles that of

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. This form resembles ''

Pleurotomella ''Pleurotomella'' is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family (biology), family Raphitomidae. Description (Original description by Verrill) As at present understood, this genus is intended to include those species which ha ...

'', Verrill, from which it differs in the character of the rostrum and pharynx, in the possession of eyes, in its straight wide siphonal canal, and in having a feebler type of verge, anal notch and fasciole.

Species

Species within the genus ''Spergo'' include: * '' Spergo aithorrhis'' Sysoev & Bouchet, 2001 * '' Spergo annulata'' Criscione, Hallan, Puillandre & Fedosov, 2021 * '' Spergo castellum'' Criscione, Hallan, Puillandre & Fedosov, 2021 * '' Spergo fusiformis'' (Habe, 1962) * '' Spergo glandiniformis'' (Dall, 1895) * '' Spergo nipponensis'' Okutani & Iwahori, 1992 * '' Spergo parunculis'' Stahlschmidt, Chino & Fraussen, 2015 * '' Spergo parvidentata'' Criscione, Hallan, Puillandre & Fedosov, 2021 * '' Spergo sibogae'' Schepman, 1913 * '' Spergo tenuiconcha'' Criscione, Hallan, Puillandre & Fedosov, 2021 ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Spergo glandiformis'' (Dall, 1895): synonym of ''Spergo glandiniformis'' (Dall, 1895) (misspelling)

References

* Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (2010). Nomenclator of Molluscan Supraspecific Names.

External links

Bouchet, P.; Kantor, Y. I.; Sysoev, A.; Puillandre, N. (2011). A new operational classification of the Conoidea (Gastropoda). Journal of Molluscan Studies. 77(3): 273-308
*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3722380 Raphitomidae Gastropod genera