Merica elegans

Merica elegans
A collection of shells of Merica elegans (museum specimens at Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Cancellariidae
Genus: Merica
Species:
M. elegans
Binomial name
Merica elegans
Synonyms[1]
  • Cancellaria elegans G.B. Sowerby I, 1822
  • Cancellaria reeveana Crosse, 1861
  • Cancellaria reeveana var. subsinensis Löbbecke, 1881

Merica elegans, common name the elegant nutmeg, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cancellariidae, the nutmeg snails.[1]

Description

The size of the shell varies between 22 mm and 43 mm.

The protoconch consists of one and a half to two smooth, glossy, slightly deviated whorls, followed by five convex whorls that are rounded at the shoulder and slightly constricted towards the base. The sculpture consists of fine, sharp, oblique ribs — up to 32 on the body whorl and 22 on the penultimate whorl — crossed by fine spiral striae, with four to seven finer threads in the spaces between them. The aperture is elongated and narrowed at both ends, ending in a short, narrow, open siphonal canal. The columella bears three folds, and the outer lip carries 10 to 12 strong ridges running well inside the aperture. The shell is off-white with three broad light to dark brown bands on the body whorl and two on the penultimate whorl, separated by narrow white bands. Australian specimens average 32 mm long and 18 mm wide.[2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the Philippines, Indonesia and Western Thailand; also off Australia (Queensland).

References

  1. 1 2 Merica elegans (G.B. Sowerby I, 1822). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 6 April 2010.
  2. ↑ Garrard, T. A. (7 November 1975). "A revision of Australian Cancellariidae (Gastropoda: Mollusca)". Records of the Australian Museum. 30 (1): 1–62. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.30.1975.212. ISSN 0067-1975.
  • Sowerby, G.B. (1st) & Sowerby, J. (ill.) 1822. The genera of Recent and Fossil shells. London : Sowerby pts 2–13.
  • Crosse, H. 1861. Etude sur le genre Cancellaire, suivie du catalogue des espèces vivantes et fossiles actuellement connues. Journal de Conchyliologie 9: 220–256
  • Löbbecke, T. 1881. Das genus Cancellaria. Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz (309): 1–16, pls 1–5
  • Garrard, T.A. 1975. A revision of Australian Cancellariidae (Gastropoda: Mollusca). Records of the Australian Museum 30: 1–62
  • Tantanasiriwong, R. 1978. An illustrated checklist of marine shelled gastropods from Phuket Island, adjacent mainland and offshore islands, Western Peninsula, Thailand. Phuket Marine Biological Center, Research Bulletin 21: 1–22, 259 figs
  • Springsteen, F.J. & Leobrera, F.M. 1986. Shells of the Philippines. Manila : Carfel Seashell Museum 377 pp., 100 pls.
  • Verhecken, A. 1986. The recent Cancellariidae of Indonesia (Neogastropoda, Cancellariacea). Gloria Maris 25(2): 29–66
  • Wilson, B. 1994. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
  • Verhecken A. 1997. Mollusca Gastropoda: Arafura Sea Cancellariidae collected during the Karubar cruise. Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 172: 295-323-page(s): 307
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Merica elegans.


This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.