Spotted tiger shell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spotted tiger shell |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| A Calliostoma punctulatum shell | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| (unranked): |
clade Vetigastropoda
|
| Family: |
Calliostomatidae
|
| Genus: | |
| Species: |
C. punctulatum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Calliostoma punctulatum (Martyn, 1784)
|
|
| Synonyms | |
|
|
The Calliostoma punctulatum, also known as the spotted tiger shell, is a type of medium-sized sea snail. It is a marine gastropod mollusc that belongs to the family Calliostomatidae. This family is commonly known as the calliostoma top snails.
Contents
What Does the Spotted Tiger Shell Look Like?
Shell Size and Color
The shell of the spotted tiger snail can be anywhere from 15 mm to 50 mm tall. It is a strong, cone-shaped shell that does not have any holes. The shell is usually yellowish or light fawn in color. It might be a solid color or have dark brown dots arranged in spirals.
Sometimes, the tiny bumps on the shell look white. This happens when the outer layer, called the cuticle, gets rubbed off.
Shell Surface and Patterns
The shell's surface has narrow spiral ridges that are very close together. These ridges have clear, bead-like bumps on them. There are usually 8 to 12 of these beaded ridges on the second-to-last spiral part of the shell.
Sometimes, all the ridges are the same size. Other times, they are alternately larger and smaller. On the spiral part before that, there are about 7 ridges. Even older spirals have 3 beaded ridges. The spaces between these ridges have slanted lines.
Shell Shape and Opening
The top part of the shell, called the spire, is slightly curved inward near the very tip. This tip, known as the apex, is very sharp and small. The lines where the shell's spirals join, called sutures, are pressed in.
The shell usually has about 8 or 9 rounded spirals, called whorls. The largest spiral at the bottom, the body whorl, is round at its edge. The opening of the shell, called the aperture, is slanted and shaped like a diamond.
Inside the opening, it looks shiny and pearly. You can see folds inside that match the ridges on the outside of the shell. The pearly central pillar of the shell, called the columella, is curved and does not have any bumps at the bottom.
Where Does the Spotted Tiger Shell Live?
This marine snail is found only in New Zealand. It lives on rocks and in the areas between the high and low tide marks.
See also
- In Spanish: Calliostoma punctulatum para niños
