Solariella varicosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Vetigastropoda
Order: Trochida
Superfamily: Trochoidea
Family: Solariellidae
Genus: Solariella
Species:
S. varicosa
Binomial name
Solariella varicosa
(Mighels & Adams, 1842)
Synonyms
  • Machaeroplax paupercula (Dall, 1919)
  • Machaeroplax varicosa (Mighels & Adams, 1842)
  • Margarita acuminata Mighels & Adams, 1842
  • Margarita elegantissima S. V. Wood, 1848
  • Margarita polaris Danielssen, 1859
  • Margarita varicosa Mighels & Adams, 1842 (original combination)
  • Margarites pauperculus Dall, 1919

Solariella varicosa, common name the varicose solarielle, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Solariellidae.[1]

Distribution

This species occurs in European waters, in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, in circum-arctic waters, in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to southern California.

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 14 mm.[2] The shell is coarse, usually more or less eroded. It has a yellowish white color over a brilliant nacre. The spire contains with five or more moderately rounded whorls. The nucleus is eroded. The distinct suture is not appressed. The axial sculpture shows numerous somewhat irregular narrow close-set wrinkles, extending over the whorl from the suture to the verge of the funicular umbilicus. The spiral sculpture shows a few spiral lines near the umbilicus. The subcircular aperture is oblique and produced above. The lips are joined over the body by a layer of enamel. The dark-brown operculum is multispiral, with 8 or 10 turns.[3]

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 13 m.[2] Maximum recorded depth is 393 m.[2]

References

  1. ^ Solariella varicosa (Mighels & Adams, 1842). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 22 April 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
  3. ^ Dall (1919) Descriptions of new species of Mollusca from the North Pacific Ocean; Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum, vol. 56 (1920) (described as Margarites pauperculus)