Pleurotomella aculeola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pleurotomella aculeola |
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| Original image of a shell of Pleurotomella aculeola | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Conoidea |
| Family: | Raphitomidae |
| Genus: | Pleurotomella |
| Species: |
P. aculeola
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| Binomial name | |
| Pleurotomella aculeola (Hedley, 1915)
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| Synonyms | |
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Pleurotomella aculeola is a tiny sea snail that lives in the ocean. It's a type of gastropod mollusk, which means it's a snail with a shell. This particular snail belongs to the Raphitomidae family.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
This sea snail has a small, pointed shell. It's shaped a bit like a spear or a spindle. The shell is usually a light, creamy color, but it can have reddish-brown stains at its ends.
Shell Size
The shell of Pleurotomella aculeola is quite small. It can grow up to 8.5 millimeters long. That's less than a centimeter! Its widest part, called the diameter, is about 4 millimeters.
Shell Features
The shell has eight whorls, which are the spiral turns that make up the shell. The first three whorls are very tiny and smooth. They form the tip of the shell, called the protoconch. The rest of the whorls get bigger quickly and have special patterns on them.
Shell Patterns
The shell has interesting patterns, also known as sculpture. It has broad, wavy bumps around its middle, like ribs. There are about ten of these ribs on each whorl. Fine spiral lines also run across these ribs and the spaces between them.
The largest part of the shell, called the body whorl, has about sixteen of these spiral lines. The whorl just before it has six. The lines near the middle of the shell become bigger and make the ribs stand out more.
Shell Opening
The opening of the shell, called the aperture, is shaped like an oval. The outer edge of this opening, called the outer lip, is thin and simple. Inside, there's a slight smooth area called a callus on the central pillar of the shell, which is the columella. The snail also has a short, straight, and open tube called a siphonal canal. This canal helps the snail breathe and filter water.
Where Does It Live?
This marine species is found only in Australia. It lives off the coast of New South Wales. When a species is found only in one specific area, it is called endemic to that place.
