Awateria optabilis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Awateria optabilis |
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| Original drawing of a shell of Awateria optabilis | |
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Awateria optabilis is a type of small sea snail. It is a marine gastropod mollusk, which means it's a creature with a soft body, often protected by a shell. This particular snail belongs to the family Borsoniidae. It was first described by scientists R. Murdoch and Suter in 1906.
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Awateria Optabilis: A Deep-Sea Snail
This article will tell you more about this interesting sea snail, including what its shell looks like and where it lives deep in the ocean.
What Does This Snail Look Like?
The shell of Awateria optabilis is quite small. It can grow up to about 10.7 millimeters (which is a little less than half an inch) long. Its widest part is about 3.9 millimeters across.
Shell Shape and Size
This snail has a narrow, tower-shaped shell. Scientists call this "turriculate." The main, largest part of the shell, called the body whorl, is shorter than the pointed, upper part, which is called the spire. The opening of the shell, known as the aperture, looks like a pear. There's also a short channel at the bottom of this opening.
Patterns and Colors
The shell has a cool criss-cross pattern, which is called "clathrate." On the spire, there are three evenly spaced spiral lines. These lines are crossed by other lines running lengthwise. Where these lines meet, they form tiny bumps, like small beads. Between the bumps, there are square-shaped dips. There are usually about 21 of these little beads in a row. Closer to the bottom of the shell, the spiral lines become narrower, and the bumps are less noticeable. The shell itself is a grayish-white color.
Inside the Shell
The spire is tower-shaped and slightly angled, but not very sharply. It is longer than the main body whorl. The very first part of the shell, called the protoconch, is round and tilted. The snail's shell has seven turns, or whorls. These whorls are narrowly angled and scooped out at the top, with mostly straight sides. The base of the shell is rounded and narrows into a short, curved tip.
The line where the whorls join, called the suture, has two edges. One is a tiny thread-like line above, and the other is a wider, heavier cord below. The pear-shaped opening (aperture) is angled at the top. Its inner wall is curved inwards and ends in a short, wide channel that turns slightly to the left. The outer edge of the opening is also curved. The way the shell grows suggests that it has a small, moderately deep notch, or sinus, just below the sutural cord. The inner lip of the shell spreads as a thin layer over the body of the snail and a bit wider over the central pillar, called the columella. This pillar is first straight, then slightly twisted to the left, ending in a sharp point.
Where Does Awateria Optabilis Live?
This marine snail lives only in New Zealand. It is found off the North Island at a very deep part of the ocean, about 1,280 meters (or about 4,200 feet) below the surface. This means it is an endemic species, found naturally in only one specific place.
