Aforia circinata
Encyclopedia
Aforia circinata, common name the ridged turrid, is a species
of sea snail
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Cochlespiridae
.
The slender, elongate shell is covered with a brownish epidermis. There are six evenly rounded whorls
, but with a sharp carina, above which they are smooth, whilst below it they are grooved, with wider interspaces. The anal sinus is deep, about one-third of the way from the carina to the suture.
and in cold waters from Alaska
to Japan
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Cochlespiridae
Cochlespiridae
Cochlespiridae is a taxonomic family of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Conoidea.This family is not well differentiated morphologically, and there is poor congruence between the molecular and shell characters. Its limits are uncertain...
.
Description
The shell grows to a length of 75 mm.The slender, elongate shell is covered with a brownish epidermis. There are six evenly rounded whorls
Whorl (mollusc)
A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...
, but with a sharp carina, above which they are smooth, whilst below it they are grooved, with wider interspaces. The anal sinus is deep, about one-third of the way from the carina to the suture.
Distribution
This marine species occurs in the Bering SeaBering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
and in cold waters from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...