Clavus is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Drilliidae.
Apart from the general characteristics of the genera in the family Drilliidae, the species in the genus Clavus have a shell with peripheral tubercles, spines or wing-like processes. The aperture is rather large. The outer lip is produced below the sinus.
The shell of Clavus is characterised by the following features:— Flat indefinite fasciole, indicated only by the curve of growth lines. A smooth subulate protoconch. An insinuation of the outer lip, near the base, like that of Strombus. A major sculpture of prominent arched scales on the shoulder, and a minor sculpture of dense, microscopic, waved, spiral striae.
Most species in this genus have a dorsal varix. But this is absent in a few species such as Clavus beckii, Clavus humilis and Clavus pica.
G.W. Tryon correctly preserved the genus for smooth specimens with a short body whorl, long spire, nodulous shoulder, no spiral sculpture, a wide, deep anal sulcus adjacent to the suture and, in the completely adult, a marked subsutural callus on the body.
The species in this genus occur in the Red Sea, In the Indian Ocean off Mozambique; also off Indonesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, Japan and Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).
According to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) the following species with valid names are included within the genus Clavus :
Species brought into synonymy
Clavus abdera (Dall, 1919): synonym of Crassispira abdera (Dall, 1919)
Clavus aeneus (Hedley, 1922): synonym of Antiguraleus aeneus (Hedley, 1922)
Clavus alabaster (Reeve, 1843): synonym of Inquisitor alabaster (Reeve, 1843)
Clavus auriculifera Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de, 1816: synonym of Clavus canalicularis (Röding, 1798)
Clavus candidulus Hedley, 1922: synonym of Splendrillia candidulus (Hedley, 1922)
Clavus costatus Hedley, 1922: synonym of Graciliclava costata (Hedley, 1922)
Clavus crassa (E.A. Smith, 1888): synonym of Clavus aglaia (Dall, 1918)
Clavus enna (Dall, 1918): synonym of Drillia enna (Dall, 1918)
Clavus filicinctus (E. A. Smith, 1882): synonym of Horaiclavus filicinctus (E. A. Smith, 1882)
Clavus flavidulus (Lamarck, 1822): synonym of Clathrodrillia flavidula (Lamarck, 1822)
Clavus flexus Shuto, 1983: synonym of Plagiostropha flexus (Shuto, 1983)
Clavus gibberulus Hervier, 1896 : synonym of Drillia gibberulus (Hervier, 1896)
Clavus inclinata (Sowerby III, 1893): synonym of Iredalea inclinata (Sowerby III, 1893)
Clavus lacertosus (Hedley, 1922): synonym of Bathytoma lacertosus Hedley, 1922
Clavus leforestieri Hervier, 1896: synonym of Clavus obliquicostatus (Reeve, 1845)
Clavus maravignae (Bivona Ant. in Bivona And., 1838): synonym of Crassopleura maravignae (Bivona Ant. in Bivona And., 1838)
Clavus mighelsi Kay, 1979: synonym of Pyrgocythara mighelsi (Kay, 1979)
Clavus mighelsi of authors: synonym of Clavus humilis (E. A. Smith, 1879)
Clavus opalus (Reeve, 1845): synonym of Plagiostropha opalus (Reeve, 1845)
Clavus pseudoprincipalis (Yokoyama, 1920): synonym of Inquisitor pseudoprincipalis (Yokoyama, 1920)
Clavus pulchellus (Reeve, 1845): synonym of Fenimorea halidorema Schwengel, 1940
Clavus quintuplex (Melvill, 1927): synonym of Plagiostropha quintuplex Melvill, 1927
Clavus regius Habe & Murakami, 1970: synonym of Drillia regia (Habe & Murakami, 1970)
Clavus undatus (Hedley, 1907): synonym of Austroclavus undatus (Hedley, 1907)
Clavus viduus (Reeve, 1845): synonym of Clavus unizonalis (Lamarck, 1822)
Species inquerenda
Clavus acuminata : species inquerenda
Clavus auriculifera Lamarck : species inquerenda
The Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database adds the following species with names in current use :
Clavus berenice (Dall, 1918) (synonym: Clavus spinosa Smith, E.A., 1882 )
Clavus siebenrocki (Sturany, 1903)
Subgenus Clavus
Clavus intermaculatus (E. A. Smith, 1879)
