- Semicassis labiata
Taxobox
name = "Semicassis labiata"
image_caption =
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Mollusca
classis =Gastropod a
ordo =Littorinimorpha
familia =Tonnidae
subfamilia =Cassinae
genus = "Semicassis "
species = "S. labiata"
binomial = "Semicassis labiata"
binomial_authority = (Perry, 1811)"Semicassis labiata" is a
species of largepredatory seasnail , a marinegastropod mollusc . This species is in thesubfamily Cassinae , the "helmet shells" and "bonnet shells", which feed on sea urchins.Distribution
This species is found around the northern part of the
North Island ofNew Zealand , and in south easternAustralia includingNorfolk Island .Habitat
This sea snail lives in shallow water.
hell description
The shell is moderately large, fairly solid, ovate, smooth and polished without nodules. When adult, it has a thick, rounded labial varix, denticulate along its inner edge. The inner lip callus shield is thick and adpressed, bridging a very small umbilical chink.
The shell coloration is pale brown to bluish-grey, with a complicated pattern of reddish-brown axial streaks, crossed by revolving bands of irregular, sometimes chevron-shaped, brown maculations, interspersed with pale areas of ground colour. The tip of the spire is pink, the labial varix is banded with purplish-brown, the interior of the aperture is chestnut, and the inner lip callus is light brown to pale orange.
The maximum shell height is 83 mm, and width 52 mm.
References
* Powell A. W. B., William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland
1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
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