Scaphander punctostriatus explained

Scaphander punctostriatus, common name the giant canoe bubble, is a species of sea snail, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Scaphandridae, the canoe bubbles.

Description

The length of the shell varies between 30 mm and 40 mm.

The shell is elongate, thin, and somewhat bubble-like, with a fragile structure. There is no evident spire, as the body whorl expands rapidly, covering the earlier whorls. The surface appears smooth but, under a microscope, reveals fine spiral lines of tiny, elongated pits (punctations). The aperture is elongated and very broad at the base. The animal is large and cannot fully retract into the shell.^[1]

The shell is whitish, covered by a thin yellowish periostracum, and occasionally displays faint, darker spiral bands. The animal itself is yellowish-white.

Distribution

This marine species occurs widely in the North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Mediterranean. Off South Africa is it is found on the outer continental shelf and upper slope along the West Coast and Agulhas Bank, at depths of 170–2700 meters.

References

• Lemche . H. . Northern and arctic tectibranch Gastropods . Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Biologiske Skrifter . 1948 . 5 . 3 . 1–136.

External links

• Mighels, J. W.; Adams, C. B. . Descriptions of twenty-four new species of New England shells . Boston Journal of Natural History . 1842 . 4 . 43–44 .
• Jeffreys . J.G. . On the Mollusca procured during the cruise of H. M. S. Triton, between the Hebrides and Faeroes in 1882. . Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 1883 . 1883 . 398–399 .
• Book: Lovén . S.L. . Index Molluscorum litora Scandinaviae occidentalia habitantium. Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskaps Akademiens Förhandlingar. . 1846 . 10 .
• Book: Locard . A. . Expéditions scientifiques du Travailleur et du Talisman pendant les années 1880, 1881, 1882 et 1883. Mollusques testacés . 1897–1898 . Masson . Paris . 54–55 .
• Eilertsen M.H. & Malaquias M.A. . Systematic revision of the genus Scaphander (Gastropoda, Cephalaspidea) in the Atlantic Ocean, with a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 2013 . 167 . 389–429 .
• Barnard . K.H. . Contributions to the knowledge of South African marine Mollusca. Part IV. Gastropoda: Prosobranchiata: Rhipidoglossa, Docoglossa. Tectibranchiata. Polyplacophora. Solenogastres. Scaphopoda. . Annals of the South African Museum . 1963 . 47 . 2 . 322 .
• Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. . Mollusca. in: Costello, M.J. et al. (eds), European Register of Marine Species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. . Patrimoines Naturels . 2001 . 50 . 180–213 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Herbert, D.G., Jones, G.J. & Atkinson, L.J. . Phylum Mollusca. In: Atkinson, L.J. and Sink, K.J. (eds) Field Guide to the Offshore Marine Invertebrates of South Africa . 2018 . Malachite Marketing and Media . Pretoria . 289 . 10.15493/SAEON.PUB.10000001 . 978-1-86868-098-6. 26 October 2024.