Filodrillia lacteola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Filodrillia lacteola |
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| Original image of a shell of Filodrillia lacteola | |
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Filodrillia lacteola is a type of sea snail. It is a marine gastropod, which means it's a kind of mollusk that lives in the ocean. This snail belongs to the family called Borsoniidae.
What Does It Look Like?
The shell of Filodrillia lacteola is quite small. It is about 4.8 millimeters (mm) long and 2.1 mm wide. That's less than half a centimeter!
The shell is thin and a see-through white color. It has six whorls, which are the spiral turns of the shell. The first two whorls, called the protoconch, are smooth and rounded. The other whorls on the main part of the shell are also rounded.
The line where the whorls meet is called the suture. It is a simple line with a narrow edge. The largest and last whorl, known as the body whorl, is rounded at its base.
The opening of the shell, called the aperture, is shaped like a long oval. It opens wide into a short tube called the siphonal canal. This canal helps the snail breathe and filter water.
The outer edge of the shell's opening is called the outer lip. It is thin and has small bumps on the outside. Near the suture, there is a deep, rounded notch called a sinus. The inner edge of the opening, the inner lip, is smooth and thin. Inside the shell, there is a central pillar called the columella, which is almost straight.
The shell also has thin spiral lines. There are about seven of these lines on the second-to-last whorl and twenty on the body whorl. You might also see very faint growth lines that make the shell's surface a little rough.
Where Does It Live?
This sea snail lives only in Australia. It is found off the coasts of South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. This means it is an endemic species, found nowhere else in the world.
