Alvania euchila is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Rissoidae.[1]
| Alvania euchila | |
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| Drawing of a shell of Alvania euchila (holotype) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Rissooidea |
| Family: | Rissoidae |
| Genus: | Alvania |
| Species: | A. euchila
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| Binomial name | |
| Alvania euchila (Watson, 1886)
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| Synonyms | |
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Description
editThe length of the shell attains 2 mm.
(Original description) The shell has a conic-oval shape, not rising in steps. It is somewhat solid, glossy, brilliant and subopalescent.
Sculpture. The longitudinal ribs (from 20 to 30) are narrow, flexuous and about as wide as their intervals. They diminish in number on the upper whorls and dying out on the base of the shell. The labial rib is thick and strong. There are about 14 spiral threads on the body whorl. They are slightly broader below than above periphery, where they are sometimes evanescent. They are about twice as broad as their interstices. Six of these usually appear on the penultimate whorl, but they become too indeterminate for counting. They are always most distinct in the rib-intervals. On the rib-crests they tend to evanesce. Besides these, the whole surface is covered with faint longitudinal lines. And on the upper whorls especially exceedingly fine microscopic spiral lines can sometimes be traced. On the embryonic 1½ whorl, about twelve closely and finely stippled spiral lines are visible.
The colour of the shell is yellowish white, opalescent on ribs, with three broad irregular and interrupted bands or series of spots of a clear yellowish brown, darkest near the aperture. The first is below the suture, the second at the periphery, the third on base. The first and second tend to coalesce behind the labial rib, at which point the third series also expands, crossing the rib and staining the lower outer corner of the aperture, the whole outer edge of which has a tinge of brown.
The belly is yellow, and the whole columella and labial rib are an opaque white. The tip of the embryonic shell is a rich deep chestnut brown.
The spire is a short broad cone, terminating in a blunt flattened apex in the centre of which the brown tip swells into sight. It contains 4 to 5 whorls, very much flattened so as to form a continuous straight slope from tip to periphery, of rather rapid increase. The suture is straight, shallow, narrow, but very distinct. The aperture is oval, very little pointed above, contracted on its outer upperside, but expanded on the base. The outer lip is thickened by a heavy white rib, somewhat incurved above, and there bevelled off from the outside to a sharp edge, whereas on the base the bevelling-off is from the inside entirely. This labial rib lies a little way back from the edge. And beyond it, the sharp edge of the aperture is only scored by fine longitudinal lines. The inner lip is barely detached from the columella, so as to leave a slight chink. It is continued pretty thickly across the belly, and meets the outer lip in a rounded and somewhat padded angle. [2]
Distribution
editThis species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off Madeira.
References
edit- ^ Alvania euchila (Watson, 1886). Gofas, S. (2009). Alvania euchila (Watson, 1886). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141186 on 9 August 2010 .
- ^ Watson, R. B. (1873). On some marine mollusca from Madeira, including a new genus of the Muricinae, a new Eulima and the whole of the Rissoa of the group of islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1873: 361-391.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
External links
edit- Watson, R. B. (1886). Report on the Scaphopoda and Gasteropoda collected by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873-76. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. Zoology 15
- Segers, Willy, Frank Swinnen, and António Domingos Abreu. "An annotated checklist of the marine molluscs from the archipelagos of Madeira and the Selvagens (NE Atlantic Ocean)." (2009).
- Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca. in: Costello, M.J. et al. (eds), European Register of Marine Species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Patrimoines Naturels. 50: 180-213
- Malacopics Photogallery: image