Clanculus eucarinatus
A marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae.
Clanculus eucarinatus is a marine gastropod mollusk belonging to the family Trochidae, commonly known as top snails. Its shell is solid and shaped like a low cone, with a false umbilicus. The shell reaches 5.2 mm in height and 5.6 mm in diameter. The small protoconch consists of 1½ flattened whorls that are smooth at the start and later develop four spiral ridges, which become granulose bands on the adult whorls. There are four adult whorls, each very slightly convex and bearing four bands; three are roughly equal in size, while the fourth, just above the suture, is stronger and creates a distinct keel on the body whorl. The suture is deeply grooved. The bands are covered in small granules, and the spaces between them have axial ridges—three ridges typically correspond to two granules on the bands. The periphery is rounded and keeled. The convex base has nine fine, granulose bands with axially ridged interstices. The aperture is oblique and four-sided. The outer lip is thick, with two rows of denticles: the outer row aligns with the bands, and the inner row has about six denticles. The columella is oblique, turned back, and has a bifid tooth at its lower edge. The umbilical cavity is deep, narrow, and toothed. This species occurs off the coast of South Australia.
Quick Facts
- Taxon
- Clanculus eucarinatus
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The shell of Clanculus eucarinatus has a height of 5.2 mm and a diameter of 5.6 mm. It is solid and depressed conoidal in shape, with a false umbilicus. The small protoconch contains 1½ flattened turns, smooth at the origin, gradually developing four spiral lirae that become granulose cinguli on the adult whorls. The four adult whorls are very slightly convex, bearing four cinguli, three of approximately equal size, and a fourth above the suture that is more strongly developed, producing a distinct carination in the body whorl. The suture is deeply canaliculate, and the cinguli are granulose. The interstices are axially lirate, with three lirae generally corresponding to two granules on the cinguli. The periphery is roundly carinate. The convex base contains nine fine granulose cinguli with axially lirate interstices. The oblique aperture is tetragonal. The outer lip is thick, with two rows of denticles: the outer corresponding to the cinguli, the inner about six in number. The oblique columella is reflexed, with a bifid tooth at the lower edge. The umbilical cavity is deep, narrow and dentate.
Reader's Guide
Clanculus eucarinatus is a species of sea snail in the family Trochidae, documented from the coast of South Australia. Its significance lies in the detailed description of its shell morphology, which includes a false umbilicus, granulose cinguli, and a bifid tooth on the columella. The shell's dimensions—5.2 mm in height and 5.6 mm in diameter—along with the presence of four adult whorls and nine fine granulose cinguli on the base, provide key diagnostic features. The species is part of the broader trochid diversity, and its description contributes to the taxonomic understanding of marine gastropods in the region. The article does not discuss any broader ecological or cultural legacy beyond these morphological and distributional facts.
Did You Know?
- The shell height of Clanculus eucarinatus is 5.2 mm and its diameter is 5.6 mm.
- The outer lip has two rows of denticles, the inner about six in number.
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