Aesopus urania

Aesopus urania
	Shell of Aesopus urania (holotype)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Columbellidae
Genus:	Aesopus
Species:	A. urania
Binomial name
	Aesopus urania; Melvill & Standen, 1901
Synonyms
	Aesopus urania var. albens Melvill & Standen, 1901 ·

Aesopus urania is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails.^[1]

Description

(Original description in Latin) The shell is thin, fusiform, and narrow, with a shiny brown exterior contrasting with a shining white apex. It has 6-7 whorls, the apical three being very light and vitreous, while the others are darkly but finely spirally striated and slightly brown. The aperture is narrow and oblong, with a slightly expanded outer lip. The columella is oblique and truncated towards the base.

The species is characterized by its fusiform shell, which is broadly truncate posteriorly, with a linear aperture and a posterior callus (although this feature is not prominent in our specimens). The columella is smooth and vitreous.

The color of the shell is typically uniformly chestnut or darker brown, fading into white towards the apex. The variety albens is completely colorless, possibly representing a bleached specimen. The last two or three whorls are largely vitreous.

The aperture is narrow, and the columella is basally truncate and oblique. The outer lip shows a slight effusion. The entire surface of the whorls is closely, but obscurely, spirally striated. ^[2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Gulf of Oman off Iran.

References

^ ^a ^b WoRMS. "Aesopus urania Melvill & Standen, 1901". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R. (1901). The Mollusca of the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Seas as evidenced mainly through the collections of Mr. F. W. Townsend, 1893-1900, with descriptions of new species. Part 1, Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Scaphopoda. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1901 (2): 327-460 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[WoRMS-1] WoRMS. "Aesopus urania Melvill & Standen, 1901". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 11 June 2024.

[2] Melvill, J. C. & Standen, R. (1901). The Mollusca of the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Seas as evidenced mainly through the collections of Mr. F. W. Townsend, 1893-1900, with descriptions of new species. Part 1, Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Scaphopoda. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1901 (2): 327-460 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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