Clionella confusa

Clionella confusa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Clade:	Caenogastropoda
Clade:	Hypsogastropoda
Clade:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Conoidea
Family:	Clavatulidae
Genus:	Clionella
Species:	C. confusa
Binomial name
Clionella confusa Smith E. A., 1906

Clionella confusa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae.^[1][2]

Description

The shell grows to a length of 40 mm.

(Original description) The elongate shell has a uniform bright red or yellowish colour. It contains 10 ? whorls (apex broken away). These are rather flat, constricted at the upper part, leaving a rounded girdle beneath the suture, with about 14 slightly oblique costa) below the constriction, by which they are interrupted, so that they are only faintly indicated upon the cingulum above. The ribs upon the body whorl are attenuated anteriorly, but disappear upon the snout. The suture is a little oblique and wavy. The aperture is more or less rosaceous within. The columella is curved, covered with a thin whitish callus. The outer lip is distinctly but not deeply notched at the constriction.

This species has been confounded with Clionella rosaria (Reeve, 1846) because of its bright red colour. Reeve's species, however, appears invariably to have the cingulum at the upper part of the whorls whitish, and more or less spotted with brown. The whorls of that species are more convex, and are distinctly transversely striated. It appears to be smaller also, the largest specimen examined being only 25 mm. in length. It is more variable in colour, sometimes bright red with a white girdle, sometimes brown, mottled with white, or yellowish, flecked with white dots. ^[3]

Distribution

This marine species occurs from Mossel Bay to North Transkei, South Africa

References

1. Clionella confusa Smith E. A., 1906.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 4 April 2010.
2. P. Bouchet; Yu. I. Kantor; A. Sysoev; N. Puillandre (2011). "A new operational classification of the Conoidea (Gastropoda)". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 77 (3): 273–308. doi:10.1093/mollus/eyr017.
3. • Smith, E. A. 1906. On South African marine Mollusca, with descriptions of new species. Annals of the Natal Government Museum 1:19-71, pls. 7-8.

• Kilburn, R.N. (1985). Turridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of southern Africa and Mozambique. Part 2. Subfamily Clavatulinae. Ann. Natal Mus. 26(2), 417-470.

External links

• Gastropods.com: Clionella confusa; accessed: 22 August 2011