Pseudorhaphitoma darnleyi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pseudorhaphitoma darnleyi |
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| Apertural view of a shell of Pseudorhaphitoma darnleyi | |
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Pseudorhaphitoma darnleyi is a tiny sea snail that lives in the ocean. It's a type of gastropod, which means it's a mollusk with a single shell, like other snails. This specific snail belongs to the family Mangeliidae.
What Does It Look Like?
This snail's shell can grow up to 12 millimeters long. That's about half an inch!
Shell Features
The shell of Pseudorhaphitoma darnleyi is slender and shaped like a pyramid. It has six distinct sides. The shell is a horny brown color. It has raised lines, called "ribs," running along its length. These ribs are crossed by other raised lines called "striae." This makes the shell feel a bit rough, or "rugose," in some places. But the spaces between these lines are smooth.
The shell has 7 to 8 flattened sections that spiral around. These sections are called whorls. The line where these whorls meet is called the "suture," and it looks solid. The patterns on the shell are much clearer on the main, largest part of the shell, known as the body whorl.
The opening of the shell has an inner "lip" that is covered with a thin layer of hard material called callus. The outer edge of the shell's opening is thin and sometimes has a black border. There's a wide, deep notch in the shell called the "sinus." The part of the shell that forms a short tube, called the siphonal canal, is also short.
This snail is special because it doesn't have the very fine spiral patterns that many other snails in its group have. This makes it a bit unusual for its genus.
Where Does It Live?
This marine snail is found only in Australia. It lives in the Gulf of Carpentaria and off the coast of Queensland. Being found only in one place means it is "endemic" to that area.
