Monilea belcheri

Monilea belcheri
Drawing with two views of a shell of Monilea belcheri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Vetigastropoda
Superfamily: Trochoidea (superfamily)
Family: Trochidae
Genus: Monilea
Species: M. belcheri
Binomial name
Monilea belcheri
Philippi, 1849 [1]
Synonyms

Trochus belcheri Philippi, 1849 (original combination)

Monilea belcheri, common name Belcher's top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.[2][3][4]

Description

The size of the shell varies between 12 mm and 17 mm. The umbilicate, thin shell has a depressed-conoidal shape. It is sharply transversely lirate with narrow, elevated, sharp lirae, of which three are stronger, alternating with two or three smaller ones; about 12 similar ones are on the base; all of them are crossed and made subgranose by closely crowded growth lines. Its surface is white, painted with scattered red dots and a few larger red spots. The apex is white or rose-red.The strongly convex whorls are separated by a subcanaliculate suture, the last rounded. The umbilicus is moderate in size and surrounded by a peculiarly reddish-brown colored callus. The aperture is subrhomboidal. The columella is nearly perpendicular and incised at its base. [5]

Distribution

This marine species occurs on sandy beaches and in the subtidal zone off Thailand and in the Western Pacific (Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia) and off Japan and Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. Philippi, R.A. 1849. Diagnosen mehrerer neuer Trochus arten. Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie 9 6(10): 146-160
  2. Rosenberg, G.; Bouchet, P. (2012). Monilea belcheri Philippi, 1849. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=547300 on 2012-11-23
  3. Marshall B. A. (1979). The Trochidae and Turbinidae of the Kermadec Ridge (Mollusca: Gastropoda). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 6: 521-552
  4. Poppe G.T., Tagaro S.P. & Dekker H. (2006) The Seguenziidae, Chilodontidae, Trochidae, Calliostomatidae and Solariellidae of the Philippine Islands. Visaya Supplement 2: 1-228.
  5. H. Pilsbry (1889), Manual of Conchology XI, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia

External links

External identifiers for Monilea belcheri
Encyclopedia of Life 4797033
WoRMS 547300
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monilea belcheri.
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