Calliostoma punctulatum
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| Calliostoma punctulatum | ||||||||||||||
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| Calliostoma punctulatum (Martyn, 1784) |
Calliostoma punctulatum is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc. Some authors have placed this genus in the Family Calliostomatidae, other malacologists have left it in the family Trochidae.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is found all around New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands.
[edit] Habitat
This top shell is found around the low tide level, usually in association with brown algae.
[edit] Shell description
.JPG/250px-Calliostoma_punctulatum_(base).JPG)
The shell is conoidal, solid, with rounded convex whorls, sculptured with narrow closely-spaced conspicuously beaded spiral ridges, varying between 6 and 12 on the penultimate whorl. The ground colour is pale yellowish or pinkish-brown; the spiral ridges are tessellated with bright reddish-brown between the pale beads.
The spire height, and the strength and number of the beaded primary cords, is geographically variable, giving rise to different maximum dimensions:
- Whangarei Heads - Shell height up to 35 mm, and width up to 34 mm.
- Stewart Island - Shell height up to 48 mm, and width up to 40 mm.
- Stewart Island, ampla form - Shell height up to 48 mm, and width up to 44 mm.
[edit] References
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
