Cominella maculosa explained

Cominella maculosa, common name the spotted whelk, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Cominellidae, the true whelks.

Description

The length of the shell varies between 30 mm and 45 mm.

The ovate, conical shell has a bluish ash color, traversed by distant lines, articulated and generally formed by oblong black points. The spots upon the upper whorls are larger, flamed, more or less numerous. The spire is composed of seven whorls. They are slightly convex, and united by a pretty fine and regular linear suture. The aperture is oblong ovate, slightly longitudinal, smooth and of a chamois-yellow color. The outer lip is thin and sharp.^[1]

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to New Zealand and is found off the North Island, the north part of the South Island and the Chatham Islands.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} This species inhabits mid to low tidal zones, to 16 m depth.^{[7] [8]}

Notes and References

1. https://archive.org/details/generalspeciesic00kien Kiener (1840). General species and iconography of recent shells : comprising the Massena Museum, the collection of Lamarck, the collection of the Museum of Natural History, and the recent discoveries of travellers; Boston :W.D. Ticknor,1837
2. 10.1111/bij.12529 . Phylogeography of the whelk genus Cominella (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) suggests long-distance counter-current dispersal of a direct developer . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . 115 . 315–332 . 2015 . Donald . Kirsten M. . Winter . David J. . Ashcroft . Anna L. . Spencer . Hamish G. . 2 . free .
3. 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.018 . A phylogeny of Southern Hemisphere whelks (Gastropoda: Buccinulidae) and concordance with the fossil record . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 114 . 2017 . 367–381 . 2017 . Vaux . Felix . Hills . Simon F.K. . Marshall . Bruce A. . Trewick . Steven A. . Morgan-Richards . Mary . 28669812 .
4. 10.1080/00288330.2017.1340899 . Genetic connectivity among populations of two congeneric direct-developing whelks varies across spatial scales . New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research . 52 . 1 . 100–117 . 2018 . Fleming . Angela M. . Dohner . Melanie . Phillips . Nicole E. . Ritchie . Peter A. . 2018NZJMF..52..100F . 90774557 .
5. 10.1093/biolinnean/blx167 . Fine-scale genetic structure across a New Zealand disjunction for the direct-developing intertidal whelk Cominella maculosa (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 123 . 2 . 593–602 . 2018 . Dohner . Melanie . Phillips . Nicole E. . Ritchie . Peter A. .
6. 10.1093/biolinnean/bly142 . Genetic structure and shell shape variation within a rocky shore whelk suggest both diverging and constraining selection with gene flow . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 125 . 4 . 827–843 . 2018 . Gemmell . Michael R. . Trewick . Steven A. . Crampton . James S. . Vaux . Felix . Hills . Simon F.K. . Daly . Elizabeth E. . Marshall . Bruce A. . Beu . Alan G. . Morgan-Richards . Mary . free .
7. Walton . Kerry . Marshall . Bruce Anders . Phillips . Nicole E. . Verry . Alexander Jacob Fischer . Ritchie . Peter . 2019-01-01 . Phylogeography of the New Zealand whelks Cominella maculosa and C. virgata (Gastropoda: Neogastropoda: Buccinoidea: Buccinidae) . Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . English . 126 . 178–202. 10.1093/biolinnean/bly174 .
8. Book: Carson, Sally F. . Collins field guide to the New Zealand seashore . 2017 . . Rod Morris . 2017 . 978-1-77554-010-6 . Auckland, New Zealand . 190 . English . 1012909625.