Clanculus maugeri

Lore & Background

The shell of Clanculus maugeri is solid and thick, with a conical shape that is more strictly conical than usual in Clanculus. It is carinated with nearly straight sides and is false-umbilicate. The color is reddish or yellowish-brown, more or less dotted minutely with a slightly darker shade. The about 8 whorls are flat above, with sutures scarcely marked. The first whorls of the apex, when not smooth by erosion, are spirally lirate, and these lirae are dotted with red. The succeeding whorls are very closely, finely granulate in spiral series, with nearly uniform fine granulation. The color is minutely dotted with darker and beneath usually with white. These characters separate Clanculus maugeri from other species in this genus.

The body whorl has about 7 rows of granules above, is carinate at the periphery, and slightly deflected anteriorly. The base of the shell is nearly flat with numerous (15 to 20) close finely beaded concentric lirulae. The tetragonal aperture is very oblique. The upper lip is straightened and wrinkled within. The outer and basal lips are thick, curved and crenulate within. The columella is very oblique, its edge denticulate, slightly tortuous above, and inserted in the center of the axis. Below it terminates in an acute or squarish narrow tooth. The parietal wall and the umbilicus are rugose, the latter bounded by a plicate-denticulate rib.

Reader's Guide

Clanculus maugeri is a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, known as top snails. Its significance lies in its distinctive shell morphology, which is more strictly conical than usual in the genus Clanculus, and its fine granulation and color pattern that separate it from other species. The species is endemic to Australia, occurring in the subtidal and intertidal zones off New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. The shell height varies between 20 mm and 26 mm, with a diameter of 25 mm. The solid, thick shell has a conical shape carinated with nearly straight sides and is false-umbilicate. The about 8 whorls are flat above, with sutures scarcely marked. The body whorl has about 7 rows of granules above, and the base has 15 to 20 close finely beaded concentric lirulae. The aperture is tetragonal and very oblique, with a denticulate columella that terminates in an acute or squarish narrow tooth. The parietal wall and umbilicus are rugose. These detailed anatomical features, as described in the source article, contribute to the species' identification and its legacy within the study of Australian marine mollusks.

Did You Know?

• The shell height of Clanculus maugeri varies between 20 mm and 26 mm.
• It is endemic to Australia, occurring off New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.
• The base of the shell has 15 to 20 close finely beaded concentric lirulae.