Austrocarina recta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Austrocarina recta |
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| Original image of a shell of Austrocarina recta | |
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Austrocarina recta is a type of small sea snail. It's a marine gastropod (a kind of snail or slug) and a mollusk (an animal with a soft body, often inside a shell). This snail belongs to the family Horaiclavidae.
It used to be grouped with a different family called Pseudomelatomidae.
Contents
What Does Austrocarina recta Look Like?
The shell of Austrocarina recta is quite small. It can grow up to 6 mm long and about 2.5 mm wide.
Shell Shape and Color
This snail has a thin, tall, and narrow shell. It's often described as having a "pagodiform" shape, which means it looks a bit like a pagoda, with angled, tiered sections. The shell is usually a pale yellow color.
Shell Features
The shell has four main spirals, called whorls, plus a tiny tip called the protoconch. The protoconch is the very first part of the shell that formed when the snail was a baby. It's smooth, white, and has two small spirals.
The shell also has special ridges or "keels" that make it look angled. The top part of the shell has about sixteen wide ribs. These ribs become less noticeable on the lower parts of the shell. If you look closely, you can see fine and coarse spiral lines all over the shell. There are also tiny growth lines, like rings on a tree, showing how the shell grew over time.
The Opening and Siphon
The opening of the shell, called the aperture, is wide. The outer edge of this opening, known as the outer lip, is simple and smooth. This snail has a short siphonal canal, which is an open, straight tube. Snails use this canal to take in water for breathing.
Where Does Austrocarina recta Live?
This marine snail is endemic to Australia. This means it is found only in Australia and nowhere else in the world. You can find Austrocarina recta living off the coasts of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and Victoria.
