Cantharidus antipoda

Cantharidus antipoda
Original drawing with three views of a shell of Cantharidus antipoda antipoda
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Vetigastropoda
Superfamily: Trochoidea
Family: Trochidae
Genus: Cantharidus
Species: C. antipoda
Binomial name
Cantharidus antipoda
(Hombron & Jacquinot, 1854) [1]
Synonyms
  • Gibbula antipoda (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1854)
  • Margarella antipoda (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1854)
  • Margarita antipoda Hombron & Jacquinot, 1854 (original description)
  • Photinula antipoda (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1854)
  • Photinula decepta Odhner, N.H.J., 1924

Cantharidus antipoda is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.[2]

Description

The length of the shell varies between 4 mm and 8 mm. The smooth, shining shell has a globose-conic shape. The small shell is composed of four to five convex whorls, the two first very small, convex and depressed; the others very large. The sutures are linear. The body whorl is angled or rounded at the periphery. The base of the shell is slightly convex and impressed in the middle. The height of the spire is a little less than that of the aperture. The shell is subperforate or imperforate and contains a few distant fine spiral lirae, visible only under a good lens, more distinct on the base, and very fine close growth lines. The large aperture is round, acute on the left, and with a flat border on the right margin. Its inside is smooth and highly iridescent. The umbilicus is only indicated and nearly covered by the convex, sharp outer lip. The columella is subvertical, arcuate, simple, slightly expanded and nearly covering the umbilicus. The shell is purplish-black. The upper whorls are iridescent, mostly with dark red spiral bands or green transverse bands, 1 or 2 on the spire whorls, 4 to 5 on the body whorl. Sometimes there are a number of whitish zigzag bands near the aperture. The epidermis is very thin and shining.[3][4]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the subantarctic islands of New Zealand

Subspecies

References

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