Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Buccinoidea Subfamily Nassariinae Scientific name Nassarius granifer Rank Species | Phylum Mollusca Family Nassariidae Genus Nassarius Higher classification Nassarius | |
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Similar Nassarius, Nassarius globosus, Nassariidae, Nassarius hirtus, Nassarius albescens | ||
Nassarius graniferus, common name the granulated dog whelk or granulated nassa, is a species of sea snail with an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the mud snails or dog whelks.
Contents
Description
The length of the shell of this species varies between 10 mm and 18 mm.
The shell is rather small, ovate, thick and globular. Its color is of an ash-white. The spire is conical and, pointed, composed of six whorls, the lowest much larger than all the other. This body whorl presents on its surface conical, distant tubercles, disposed in four series. A few transverse striae ornament the base. The upper whorls have only a single row of tubercles. The ovate aperture is narrow, emarginated at the upper part, at its union with the outer lip, which is thick, striated internally. The columella is arcuated, covering the inner lip, which is expanded into a white, thick callosity, covering the whole lower surface, and a portion of the upper whorls.
Distribution
The shell occurs in the Indo-West Pacific Ocean off Réunion, Aldabra, Chagos, Mascarene Basin. Specimens of this species were gathered by Rizal in Dapitan in 1894 although he labeled them as Nassa arcularia; also off many islands in Oceania and off Australia (New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland).