Vasum ceramicum

Vasum ceramicum
Shell of Vasum ceramicum from Maluku Islands at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Muricoidea
Family: Turbinellidae
Genus: Vasum
Species: V. ceramicum
Binomial name
Vasum ceramicum
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Vasum ceramicum, common name ceramic vase or heavy whelk, is a species of medium to large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae.

Description

Vasum ceramicum has a large, thick and heavy shell that reaches a length of 59 – 160 mm. This shell is quite elongated, conical or vase-shaped (hence the common name). It has long siphonal canal, three strong, columella folds and 7-10 strong spiny tubercles in each loop. It is colored white and greys or dark brown externally, while the aperture may be colored white or pale brown.

Distribution

The species is widespread in the Mascarene Plateau, off the coast of Madagascar, and Tanzania.[1]

Habitat

This sea snail lives on lower eulittoral, rocky areas at depth of 10 to 40 m.

References

  1. "WoRMS taxon details". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 26 November 2016.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.