Cantharidus tenebrosus

Cantharidus tenebrosus
Apertural view of a shell of Cantharidus tenebrosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Vetigastropoda
Superfamily: Trochoidea
Family: Trochidae
Genus: Cantharidus
Species: C. tenebrosus
Binomial name
Cantharidus tenebrosus
A. Adams, 1853
Synonyms[1]
  • Cantharidus parcipictus Powell, 1946
  • Micrelenchus (Micrelenchus) tenebrosus (A. Adams, 1853)
  • Micrelenchus parcipictus Powell, 1946
  • Micrelenchus tenebrosus (A. Adams, 1853)

Cantharidus tenebrosus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.[1]

Description

The shell grows to a length of 6 mm . The solid, conical shell is elevated, imperforate, and rather thick. Its color is dark bluish-black, or with a purple shade. The spire is conoidal. The sutures are slightly impressed. The apex is somewhat obtuse, a trifle eroded and whitish at the tip. The six whorls are very slightly convex, those of the spire encircled by about seven lirae of about the same width as their interstices. The body whorl is very bluntly subangular at the periphery, with about 20 spiral lirae, and fine delicate growth lines. The aperture is rounded-quadrate, oblique, less than ½ the total length of the shell. The outer lip is very narrowly black-edged. It isbordered by a series of short fine sulcations, beyond which there is a porcellaneous thickening. The throat is nacreous, iridescent, the reflections mainly green. The columella is subvertical, a trifle arcuate, rounded and pillar-like, covering the umbilicus above. The parietal wall has a thin whitish callus. The upper angle of the aperture is angular and slightly channeled.[2]

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to New Zealand and occurs off North Island, South and Stewart Island

References

External identifiers for Cantharidus tenebrosus
WoRMS 598226
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