Keith Willmott, USA
Info
Purpuradusta gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849)
The graceful kauri is a shell snail from the family Cypraeidae, which are called porcelain snails because of their porcelain-like, smoothly polished shells. The shell of porcelain snails has a narrow, usually toothed opening. In the living animal, the edge of the mantle grows over the shell from both sides and forms a line in the pattern where it meets on the back. Porcelain snails are predominantly nocturnal omnivores.
Purpuradusta gracilis was first described by John Samuel Gaskoin in 1849, is about 2cm tall and is an omnivore. Habitat: on flat sublittoral rocky soils.
Shell ovoid, elongated, not tapering towards the front, smooth and shiny. The opening is surrounded by a thickened, porcelain-like callus and extends the entire length of the shell. Outer lip curled and with 15-16 teeth on the inside, columellar margin with a row of teeth that are closer together than those of the outer lip, gradually larger and more oblique towards the anterior end.
Color: Shell bluish-green with tiny brown spots throughout and a few large, fuzzy brown spots on the back; Callus around the opening, cream colored with scattered dark brown spots, both ends of the opening with paired brown/purple spots. The subspecies notata is characterized by the bright red color of the animal's mantle lobes, which contrasts with the dark brownish color in Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis gracilis.
Direct children (6)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis hilda (Iredale, 1939)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis macula (Angas, 1867)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis notata (Gill, 1858)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis jamila Lorenz, 1998 accepted as Purpuradusta gracilis notata (Gill, 1858)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis nemethi Van Heesvelde, 2010 accepted as Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849)
The graceful kauri is a shell snail from the family Cypraeidae, which are called porcelain snails because of their porcelain-like, smoothly polished shells. The shell of porcelain snails has a narrow, usually toothed opening. In the living animal, the edge of the mantle grows over the shell from both sides and forms a line in the pattern where it meets on the back. Porcelain snails are predominantly nocturnal omnivores.
Purpuradusta gracilis was first described by John Samuel Gaskoin in 1849, is about 2cm tall and is an omnivore. Habitat: on flat sublittoral rocky soils.
Shell ovoid, elongated, not tapering towards the front, smooth and shiny. The opening is surrounded by a thickened, porcelain-like callus and extends the entire length of the shell. Outer lip curled and with 15-16 teeth on the inside, columellar margin with a row of teeth that are closer together than those of the outer lip, gradually larger and more oblique towards the anterior end.
Color: Shell bluish-green with tiny brown spots throughout and a few large, fuzzy brown spots on the back; Callus around the opening, cream colored with scattered dark brown spots, both ends of the opening with paired brown/purple spots. The subspecies notata is characterized by the bright red color of the animal's mantle lobes, which contrasts with the dark brownish color in Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis gracilis.
Direct children (6)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis hilda (Iredale, 1939)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis macula (Angas, 1867)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis notata (Gill, 1858)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis jamila Lorenz, 1998 accepted as Purpuradusta gracilis notata (Gill, 1858)
Subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis nemethi Van Heesvelde, 2010 accepted as Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849)
