Argalista filifera

Argalista filifera
Shell of Argalista filifera (specimen at MNHN, Paris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Vetigastropoda
Order: Trochida
Superfamily: Trochoidea
Family: Colloniidae
Subfamily: Colloniinae
Genus: Argalista
Species:
A. filifera
Binomial name
Argalista filifera
(Deshayes, 1863)
Synonyms
  • Leptothyra filifera (Deshayes, 1863) superseded combination
  • Turbo filifer Deshayes, 1863 superseded combination

Argalista filifera is a species of small sea snail with calcareous opercula, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Colloniidae.[1]

Description

The length of the shell attains 7 mm, its diameter also 7 mm.

(Original description) A small shell easily recognizable by its form and coloration. It is globulose, with a short, obtuse spire, composed of five convex whorls, the first two of which are blackish brown.

The body whorl is very large and slightly depressed toward the center. Next to the columella, it shows a narrow and deep perforation.

The surface is sculptured with a great number of small, transverse, thread-like ribs (or costae), which are simple, convex, equal, and regular. One, or sometimes two, of these ribs near the circumference of the body whorl are a little thicker.

The aperture is small and circular. The columella, rather slender at its origin, develops outwardly into a sort of callous auricle.

The shell is thick and solid, and its coloration is highly variable. On a reddish or pinkish background, one or two transverse series of dark brown punctuations are often delineated. However, in other individuals, the coloration is much darker and consists of dark brown marbling alternating with white spots.[2]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Réunion.

References

  1. ^ Argalista filifera (Deshayes, 1863). 22 October 2025. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species.
  2. ^ Deshayes, G.P. (1863). Catalogue des mollusques de l'île de la Réunion (Bourbon). Pp. 1-144. In Maillard, L. (Ed.) Notes sur l'Ile de la Réunion. Paris: Dentu. p. 74. Retrieved 22 October 2025. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • Poppe, G.T., Tagaro, S.P. & Huang, S.-I. (2023). The recent Colloniidae with a study of the Colloniidae collected by various expeditions of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 372 pp.