Siliquaria maoria

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Siliquaria maoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Orthogastropoda
Order: Mesogastropoda
Family: Siliquariidae
Genus: Siliquaria
Species: S. maoria
Binomial name
Siliquaria maoria
Powell, 1940

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

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[edit] Distribution

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

[edit] Habitat

These shells are usually found embedded in sponges.

[edit] Shell 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.

[edit] References