Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Superfamily Trochoidea Rank Species | Phylum Mollusca Clade Vetigastropoda Family Trochidae | |
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Similar Monodonta canalifera, Trochus radiatus, Trochus maculatus, Clanculus margaritarius | ||
Monilea belcheri, common name Belcher's top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
Contents
Description
The size of the shell varies between 12 mm and 17 mm. The umbilicate, thin shell has a depressed-conoidal shape. It is sharply transversely lirate with narrow, elevated, sharp lirae, of which three are stronger, alternating with two or three smaller ones; about 12 similar ones are on the base; all of them are crossed and made subgranose by closely crowded growth lines. Its surface is white, painted with scattered red dots and a few larger red spots. The apex is white or rose-red.The strongly convex whorls are separated by a subcanaliculate suture, the last rounded. The umbilicus is moderate in size and surrounded by a peculiarly reddish-brown colored callus. The aperture is subrhomboidal. The columella is nearly perpendicular and incised at its base.
Distribution
This marine species occurs on sandy beaches and in the subtidal zone off Thailand and in the Western Pacific (Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia) and off Japan and Queensland, Australia.