Monoplex vespaceus

Monoplex vespaceus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Tonnoidea
Family:	Ranellidae
Subfamily:	Cymatiinae
Genus:	Monoplex
Species:	M. vespaceus
Binomial name
Monoplex vespaceus (Lamarck, 1822)
Synonyms[1]
Cymatium (Turritriton) indomelanicum Garcia-Talavera, 1997 Cymatium (Turritriton) vespaceum (J.B.P.A. de Lamarck, 1822) Eutritonium rembangense J. Wanner, & Hahn, 1935 Triton elongatus Reeve, 1844 Triton vespaceus Lamarck, 1822

Monoplex vespaceus, common name the Dwarf Hairy Triton, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ranellidae, the triton snails, triton shells or tritons.^[1]

Distribution

This species has a wide distribution and is found in the Atlantic Ocean along Cape Verde, West Africa, Ghana, Senegal, in the Indian Ocean along KwaZuluNatal, Tanzania and Mauritius, in the Indo-West Pacific, in the Red Sea, in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Lesser Antilles, and Eastern Florida.^{[citation needed]}

Description

The shell size varies between 16 mm and 60 mm.^{[citation needed]}

The maximum recorded shell length is 41 mm.^[2]

Habitat

Minimum recorded depth is 4.5 m.^[2] Maximum recorded depth is 4.5 m.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Monoplex vespaceus (Lamarck, 1822). WoRMS (2010). Monoplex vespaceus (Lamarck, 1822). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=476538 on 10 November 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Welch J. J. (2010). "The “Island Rule” and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.

Further reading

• Spry, J.F. (1961). The sea shells of Dar es Salaam: Gastropods. Tanganyika Notes and Records 56
• Rolán E., 2005. Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda.
• Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas

External links

• Gastropods.com : Cymatium (Turritriton) vespaceum; accessed : 10 November 2010