kids encyclopedia robot

Pupa affinis facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Pupa affinis
Pupa kirki.JPG
A shell of Pupa affinis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
(unranked):
clade Heterobranchia
informal group Lower Heterobranchia
Superfamily:
Acteonoidea
Family:
Acteonidae
Genus:
Pupa
Species:
P. affinis
Binomial name
Pupa affinis
(A. Adams, 1855)
Synonyms
  • Acteon pilsbryi Cossmann, 1902
  • Buccinulus albus Hutton, 1873
  • Buccinulus fraterculus Dunker, 1882
  • Buccinulus gracilis Kirk, 1882
  • Buccinulus intermedius Angas, 1879
  • Buccinulus kirki Hutton, 1873
  • Buccinulus niveus Angas, 1871
  • Buccinulus strigosus Gould, 1859
  • Pupa kirki (Hutton, 1873)
  • Pupa nivea (Angas, 1871)
  • Pupa strigosa sekii Habe, 1958
  • Solidula affinis A. Adams, 1855 (basionym)
  • Tornatella fumata Reeve, 1865

Pupa affinis is a small sea snail that lives in the ocean. It's a type of mollusc called a gastropod, which means it has a single shell and moves on a "foot." You can find these snails in the waters around the North Island of New Zealand. They belong to a family of snails called Acteonidae.

What Pupa affinis Looks Like

The shell of Pupa affinis is about 15 millimeters long. That's about the length of your fingernail! The shells are usually white, beige, or brown. Sometimes they have black marks on them.

The shell is shaped like an egg. It has a raised, pointed top part called a spire. Inside the shell, there's a central pillar called the columella. This pillar has a large double fold.

About Its Scientific Names

Sometimes, scientists give different names to the same animal. This can happen if they discover it in different places or at different times. When this happens, the older, correct name is kept, and the other names become "synonyms."

For Pupa affinis, some of its older names include:

  • Pupa nivea
  • Pupa strigosa

One of the older names for this snail, Buccinulus kirki, might have been named after Thomas William Kirk. He was a scientist who studied sea creatures in New Zealand. Or it could have been named after his father, Thomas Kirk, who was a curator at the Auckland Museum.

kids search engine
Pupa affinis Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.