Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Superfamily Trochoidea Rank Species | Phylum Mollusca Clade Vetigastropoda Family Trochidae | |
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Similar Trochus camelophorus, Trochus squarrosus, Coelotrochus viridis | ||
Trochus kochii is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
Contents
Description
The height of the shell attains 32 mm, its diameter 38 mm. The broad, rather solid shell has a conical shape. The spire is conic. The apex is generally eroded, corneous or orange colored. The about 7 whorls are, a little convex. They are whitish, painted with oblique flexuose or angular brownish green radiating stripes. Nearly the whole surface is sometimes suflfused with bright green by the erosion of the outer layer. The sculpture consists of inconspicuous incremental striae and very oblique subobsolete folds. The flat base of the shell is very obsoletely lirate. Its middle portion (umbilical tract) is excavated, concave, strongly spirally grooved. The sculpture does not extend into the aperture nor to the edge of the columella, which is nacreous. The large aperture is very oblique, very iridescent and neither lirate nor toothed within. The basal lips and columella are simple,forming a regular curve. The columella shows a strong dentiform fold above. The green parietal wall is eroded and, nearly smooth.
Distribution
This marine species occurs off South Africa.