Amalda obesa

Amalda obesa
Shell of Amalda obesa (preserved specimen at the Natural History Museum, Rotterdam)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Ancillariidae
Genus:	Amalda
Species:	A. obesa
Binomial name
Amalda obesa (G.B. Sowerby II, 1859)
Synonyms
Ancilla capensis Gray, 1865 Ancilla obesa (G. B. Sowerby II, 1859) Ancillaria obesa G. B. Sowerby II, 1859 (original combination)

Amalda obesa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ancillariidae.[1]

Description

The length of the shell attains 18.8 mm.

(Original description in Latin) The shell is oval and inflated. It is pale with dark mottling and a central dark band. The spire is short and pyramidal, with the whorls that have defined edges. The aperture is large and features a single tooth, while the small varix is white.

This species is more obese than Amalda oblonga, with a shorter spire. The middle of the body whorl has a broad brown band, above and below which are rows of brown spots; the margination is also variegated. [2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs off Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

References

1. Amalda obesa (G.B. Sowerby II, 1859). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 28 April 2010.
2. Sowerby, G.B. II (1859). Monograph of the genus Ancillaria. In: G. B. Sowerby II (ed.), Thesaurus Conchyliorum, or monographs of Genera of Shells, vol. 3 (19). privately published. pp. 57–67. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

• Kilburn, R.N. & Rippey, E. (1982). Sea Shells of Southern Africa. Johannesburg: Macmillan South Africa. p. 112.
• Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998). Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector's Guide to Beached Shells. Hartebeespoort, South Africa: Ekogilde Publishers. p. 128.
• Gratecap, D. (2012). "Le genre Amalda en Afrique Australe". Xenophora. 140: 29.
• Steyn, D. G. & Lussi, M. (2005). Offshore shells of southern Africa: A pictorial guide to more than 750 gastropods. Published by the authors. p. 149.

External links

• Kilburn, R.N. (1993). "Notes on some South African Ancillinae with descriptions of five new species of Amalda". Annals of the Natal Museum. 34 (2): 374.