Glyphepithema alapapilionis
| Glyphepithema alapapilionis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Glyphepithema alapapilionis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Family: | Naticidae |
| Genus: | Glyphepithema |
| Species: | G. alapapilionis |
| Binomial name | |
| Glyphepithema alapapilionis (Röding, 1798) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Glyphepithema alapapilionis, common name butterfly-wing sand shell, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Naticidae, the moon snails.[1]
Description
The length of the shell attains 28 mm, its diameter 27 mm.
(Described in French as Natica crenata) The shell is oval, conical, and ventrose, and is composed of five whorls, of which the body whorl is much larger than all the others combined. This body whorl shows alternately rusty-yellow, white, and brownish-maroon bands. These zones are unequal in width; the white bands that border the brown ones are articulated with transverse, elongate-square blotches of maroon. Seen from a little distance, this pattern gives the brown bands the appearance of gear wheels.
The whorls, though slightly convex in their upper part, appear almost staged or turreted. The spire is prominent, conical, and staged; the brown band, edged with dots of the same colour, winds around it up to the summit, which is acute. The aperture is very oblique, semicircular, white at the entrance, and purplish within. The inner lip is obliquely straight and bears anteriorly a groove formed by the pressure of the calcareous operculum; the lip of the operculum is short and only weakly reflected over the penultimate whorl.
The umbilicus is large and open only in its upper part, as in all funiculate Natica species, and it is blocked in its lower portion by a fairly broad funicle with a depressed surface and a summit cut off squarely. The operculum is calcareous but otherwise remains insufficiently known.[2]
Distribution
This species widely occurs in the Indo-West Pacific, as off the Mascarenes; also off Australia (New South Wales, Queensland).
References
- ↑ MolluscaBase eds. (2026). MolluscaBase. Glyphepithema alapapilionis (Röding, 1798). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=571871 on 2026-06-18
- ↑ Récluz, C.A. (1853). "Description de quelques nérites et d'une natice". Journal de Conchyliologie. 4: 320. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Patterson Edward, J. K.; Ravinesh, R. & Biju Kumar, A. (2022). Molluscs of the Gulf of Mannar, India and adjacent waters: A fully illustrated guide. Suganthi Devadason Marien Research Institute & Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala. Tuticorin. i-xx, 1-524.
- Hollman M. (2008) Naticidae. In Poppe G.T. (ed.) Philippine marine mollusks, vol. 1: 482-501, pls 186-195. Hackenheim: Conchbooks.
page(s): 488, pl. 189 figs 1,3-4.
External links
- abat A.R. (2000) Results of the Rumphius Biohistorical Expedition to Ambon (1990). Part 10. Mollusca, Gastropoda, Naticidae. Zoologische Mededelingen 73(25): 345-380
- Récluz, C.A. (1852). "Description de plusieurs coquilles nouvelles". Journal de Conchyliologie. 3 (4): 408–414.
- Röding, P.F. (1798). Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturæ quæ olim collegerat Joa. Fried Bolten, M. D. p. d. per XL. annos proto physicus Hamburgensis. Pars secunda continens Conchylia sive Testacea univalvia, bivalvia & multivalvia. Hamburg: Trapp. p. 146.
- Philippi, R.A. (1849–1853). Die Gattungen Natica und Amaura. In Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. In: Küster, H. C., Ed. Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz. Neu herausgegeben und vervollständigt. Zweiten Bandes erste Abtheilung. 2(1). Nûrnberg: Bauer & Raspe. p. 84.
- Lamarck, J. B. P. A. de M. de (1816). ableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature, Mollusques et polypes divers. Part 23. Paris: Vve. Agasse. p. pl. 453.
