Thais orbita

Thais orbita
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Muricoidea
Family:	Muricidae
Subfamily:	Rapaninae
Genus:	Thais
Species:	T. orbita
Binomial name
Thais orbita (Martyn, 1784)

Thais orbita, or the white rock shell, is a large species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Muricidae, the rock snails.

Habitat

This snail is found in the intertidal zone on rocks.

Dicathais orbita underside view of the shell, showing the deep crenulations

References

• Miller M & Batt G, Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand, William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
• Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
• Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 85467 054 8