Siliquaria maoria

Taxobox
name = "Siliquaria maoria"


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
subclassis = Orthogastropoda
ordo = Mesogastropoda
familia = Siliquariidae
genus = "Siliquaria"
species = "S. maoria"
binomial = "Siliquaria maoria"
binomial_authority = Powell, 1940
synonyms =

"Siliquaria maoria" is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Siliquariidae, common name the slit worm snails.

Distribution

This species is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand, at depths of between 35 and 255 m.

Habitat

These shells are usually found embedded in sponges.

hell description

The early whorls are compacted into a broadly rounded, tightly coiled but not adherent spiral, with a wide umbilical area, then produced in meandering fashion, away from the main axis. On top of the post-nuclear whorls, there is a narrow slit with flexuous edges, that runs the length of the tube to the aperture. Above the slit the sculpture is dense wavy longitudinal threads, but below the slit there are transverse, dense, strong, rugose, deep cracks.

The width of the compacted early whorls is up to 16 mm, and the tube width is up to 5.5 mm.

References

* Powell A. W. B., "New Zealand Mollusca", William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1