Neptunea smirnia

Neptunea smirnia, the chocolate whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks. It was first described to science by William Healey Dall in 1919. The type specimen was collected from the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 114 fathoms of water.[2]

Neptunea smirnia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Buccinoidea
Family: Buccinidae
Genus: Neptunea
Species:
N. smirnia
Binomial name
Neptunea smirnia
(Dall, 1919)
Synonyms[1]
  • Chrysodomus smirnia Dall, 1919

Neptunea smirnia fossils have been identified in Pliocene epoch deposits, suggesting that this species is at least 2.5 million years old.[3]

Description

The shell is chocolate brown to tan in color. There are typically five to six whorls. The spiral edge between the whorls, or suture, is quite distinct. The larger two or three whorls may have small ridges, while the remaining, smaller, whorls are completely smooth. The aperture, or opening of the shell, is oval in shape and white in color. The siphonal canal is short and wide. The operculum, which closes the aperture, is horny and brown. Chocolate whelks can reach 11 centimetres (4.3 in) long.[4] The maximum diameter of the shell is roughly half its length.[2]

Habitat and range

Chocolate whelks are found in the northeast Pacific Ocean from Oregon to Southeast Alaska.[5] They are found in Puget Sound[6] They live on soft sea bottoms from shallow waters to 300 metres (980 ft).[4]

References
  1. Fraussen & Terryn (2007). A Conchological Iconography. The Family Buccinidae. Genus Neptunea. ConchBooks (Ed.). World Register of Marine Species.
  2. Dall, William H. (1920). "Descriptions Of New Species Of Mollusca From The North Pacific Ocean Ocean The Collection Of The United States National Museum". Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 56: 322.
  3. Vedder, J. G. (1960). Previously Unreported Pliocene Mollusca From The Southeastern Los Angeles Basin. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. B326.
  4. "Neptunea smirnia, smirnia whelk". www.sealifebase.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  5. White, James Seeley. (1976). Seashells of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, Or.: Binford & Mort. ISBN 0-8323-0232-5. OCLC 1991906.
  6. "PNW-Marine-Molluscan-Biodiversity". www.bily.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
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