Shining margins Published 1 November 2023 Perhaps the first thing to be noticed about the margin snails of the Marginellidae is how shiny they are. Next is likely to be how brightly they are coloured; even those species where the shell is largely white are typically strikingly patterned. Margin shells must surely be among the… Continue reading Marginella (Glabella)
Category: Neogastropoda
Neptunea
Belongs within: Buccinoidea. Neptunea is a genus of large whelks with a high spire and short to medium-long siphonal canal found in northern temperate and Arctic regions. Shells have a prominent spiral sculpture but weak or no axial sculpture (Kantor et al. 2022). <==Neptunea Röding 1798 [incl. Chrysodomus Swainson 1840]KF22 |–+–*N. antiqua (Linnaeus 1758)BR17, KF22,… Continue reading Neptunea
Conus
Belongs within: Conidae.Contains: Conus (Plicaustraconus), Conus (Stephanoconus), Conus (Strategoconus), Conus (Turriconus), Conus (Dauciconus), Conus (Floraconus), Conus (Splinoconus), Conus (Rhizoconus), Conus (Pionoconus), Conus (Textilia), Conus (Phasmoconus), Conus (Virroconus), Conus (Lividoconus), Conus (Virgiconus), Conus (Lautoconus), Conus (Leptoconus), Conus (Darioconus), Conus (Cylinder). Conus, the cone shells, is a genus of cone-shaped predatory gastropods in which the radula has… Continue reading Conus
Murex
Belongs within: Muricidae. Murex is an Indo-Pacific genus of marine gastropods with shells bearing three spinose varices and a long siphonal canal. In most species there are numerous long spines on the siphonal canal though M. brevispina bears short spines on the basal half of the canal only (Wilson 1994). Characters (from Wilson 1994): Siphonal… Continue reading Murex
Buccinum
Belongs within: Buccininae. Buccinum is a genus of whelks found in colder waters of both hemispheres. The type species is the common whelk B. undatum of the northern Atlantic which is widely harvested for food. The shell of B. undatum is sculpted with thick, waved folds crossed by prominently incised spiral lines. Characters (from Oldroyd… Continue reading Buccinum
Voluta
Belongs within: Volutoidea. Voluta is a genus of more or less large volutes found in the tropics of the West Atlantic with a solid, ovate to elongate-ovate shell. <==Voluta Linnaeus 1758 [Volutidia, Volutini]BR05 |–*V. musica Linnaeus 1758BR17 |–V. aculeataH86 |–V. aethiopica Linnaeus 1758L58 |–V. amphora Lightfoot 1786K65 |–V. anguria Lightfoot 1786K65 |–V. attenuataH86 |–V. aulicaB42… Continue reading Voluta
Marginellini
Belongs within: Marginellidae.Contains: Marginella (Glabella), Marginella (Volvarinella). The Marginellini are a group of margin shells characterised by the complete loss of the buccal mass including the radula. In the genus Volvarina, the shell has a low to moderate spire, the outer lip is moderately varixed with a smooth inner margin, and the inner lip bears… Continue reading Marginellini
Crassispira (Crassispira)
Crassispira woodringi Published 22 January 2023 Crassispira is one of those conoid genera that has tended to draw species into it, impelled by the force of its taxonomic gravity. As noted by Powell (1966), various authors have tended to award it any conoid species exhibiting a strong subsutural fold. Among modern species, the recognition of… Continue reading Crassispira (Crassispira)
Conoidea
Belongs within: Neogastropoda.Contains: Speightiidae, Cryptoconidae, Drilliidae, Pseudomelatomidae, Clavatulidae, Horaiclavidae, Lucerapex, Terebridae, Turridae, Cochlespiridae, Conidae, Clathurellidae, Conorbidae, Borsoniidae, Mangeliidae, Raphitomidae, Mitromorphidae. The Conoidea are a diverse clade of predatory marine gastropods, many of which have the radula modified for the delivery of venom (hence the alternative name sometimes used for the group of Toxoglossa). With the… Continue reading Conoidea
Volutoidea
Belongs within: Neogastropoda.Contains: Fulgorariinae, Athletinae, Voluta, Lyriini, Scaphella, Amoria, Alcithoe, Odontocymbiolini, Unitas, Zeadmete, Oamaruia, Inglisella, Bonellitia, Merica, Sveltella, Tritonoharpa, Turehua, Plesiotriton, Admete, Paladmete, Sveltia, Cancellaria, Trigonostoma. The Volutoidea are a clade of neogastropods supported by molecular data uniting the families Volutidae and Cancellariidae. The Cancellariidae, nutmeg snails, are a group of marine gastropods adapted for… Continue reading Volutoidea