Otukaia
Encyclopedia
Otukaia is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of medium-sized sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....

s, marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod molluscs 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...

 Calliostomatidae
Calliostomatidae
Calliostomatidae is a family of sea snails within the superfamily Trochoidea and the clade Vetigastropoda.- Description :The Calliostomatidae are unusually diverse. They are characterized by a stepped spire and a pointy aperture. They may possess or lack an umbilicus. The columella is sometimes...

, the top shells. Otukaia has long been considered a subspecies of Calliostoma
Calliostoma
Calliostoma is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails with gills and an operculum, marine gastropod molluscs within the family Calliostomatidae, the calliostoma top snails . Previously this genus was placed within the family Trochidae...

 and is still treated as such by many authorities.

Snails in this genus are characterized by their relatively large, silky-white, thin shell. They lack an umbilicus. Their spiral 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...

 are flat to slightly convex. The first three spiral cords can show some sculpture that may persist on later whorls. They have a rachidian radula
Radula
The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...

. They can be found world-wide in deep water.

Some authors use Otukaia Ikebe, 1942 as a subgenus in Calliostoma
Calliostoma
Calliostoma is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails with gills and an operculum, marine gastropod molluscs within the family Calliostomatidae, the calliostoma top snails . Previously this genus was placed within the family Trochidae...

Swainson, 1840.

The (sub)generic name Otukaia is named in honor of the Japanese malacologist Yanosuke Otuka (1903–1950), who described the type species Calliostoma kiheiziebisu
Calliostoma kiheiziebisu
Otukaia kiheiziebisu is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae.The type specimens were collected by amateur conchologist Mr. Kiheizi Oosima in 1938. The specific name kiheiziebisu is in honour of him...

Otuka, 1939.

Species

Species in the genus Otukaia include:
  • Otukaia blacki
    Otukaia blacki
    Otukaia blacki is a medium-sized deepwater sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Calliostomatidae, the calliostoma top snails.-References:...

    Dell, 1956
  • Otukaia crustulum
    Otukaia crustulum
    Otukaia crustulum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae....

    Vilvens & Sellanes, 2006
  • Otukaia eltanini
  • Otukaia kiheiziebisu Otuka, 1939 - synonym: Calliostoma kiheiziebisu Otuka, 1939. - the type species of the subgenus Otukaia.
  • Otukaia otukai Ikebe, 1942
  • Otukaia rossica (Dall, 1919) - Russian margarite


Synonyms:
  • Otukaia ikukoae Sakurai, 1994 is a synonym of Calliostoma ikukoae
    Calliostoma ikukoae
    Calliostoma ikukoae is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae....

    Sakurai, 1994
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