Clanculus samoensis
A marine top snail with a purplish-brown shell and carmine apex.
Clanculus samoensis is a marine snail, a gastropod mollusk belonging to the Trochidae family, commonly known as top snails. Its shell is depressed and conoid in shape, reaching 7 mm in height and 9 mm in diameter. The shell is uniformly dark purplish or ferrugineous brown, with a carmine apex. It has six convex whorls with fine, granose spiral ridges, and the sutures between them are narrowly grooved. The body whorl is rounded at the edge and briefly bends downward at the front. It is encircled by 16 or 17 fine, regular but faintly granose ridges, which become wider on the base. The aperture is rounded, with the outer and basal lips thickened, curved, and finely crenulated inside. The columella extends deep into the wide umbilicus, bearing a small tooth above and at the base. The umbilicus itself is smooth inside, bordered and constricted by a marginal rib that has about four white teeth, the largest near the parietal wall of the aperture.
This species occurs in the Red Sea, the central and eastern Indian Ocean, and around Indo-China, Indo-Malaysia, Oceania, the Philippines, and Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).
Quick Facts
- Taxon
- Clanculus samoensis
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The shell of Clanculus samoensis is depressed and umbilicate, with a conoid shape. It is unicolored dark purplish or ferrugineous brown, with the apex being carmine. The shell contains six convex, granose-lirate whorls, and the sutures are narrowly subcanaliculate. The body whorl is rounded at the periphery and abruptly briefly deflected anteriorly, encircled by 16 or 17 finely, very regularly but feebly granose lirae that become wider on the base.
The aperture is rounded, with outer and basal lips that are regularly curved, thickened, and finely crenulated within. The columella deeply enters the profound umbilicus, bearing a minute denticle above and at the base. The profound umbilicus is smooth within, bordered and constricted by a marginal rib bearing about four white teeth, the largest near the parietal wall of the aperture.
This marine species occurs in the Red Sea, in the Central and East Indian Ocean; off Indo-China, Indo-Malaysia, Oceania, the Philippines, and Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).
Reader's Guide
Clanculus samoensis was first described by Gould in 1849 in a publication of the Boston Society of Natural History. Its description has been referenced in numerous subsequent works, including those by Rousseau (1854), Smith (1876), Hedley (1899 and 1907), Melvill and Standen (1899 and 1901), Schepman (1908), and more recent authors such as Rippingale and McMichael (1961), Cernohorsky (1978), Short and Potter (1987), Wilson (1993), and Jansen (1995). These references document its presence across a wide geographic range from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, including Australia. The species is distinguished by its unique combination of shell morphology—particularly the granose lirae, the profound umbilicus with its marginal rib of white teeth, and the carmine apex. Its inclusion in the family Trochidae places it among the top snails, a group known for their often colorful and sculptured shells. The species has been recorded in multiple museum collections and scientific surveys, contributing to the understanding of trochid diversity in tropical Indo-Pacific waters.
Did You Know?
- The shell height of Clanculus samoensis attains 7 mm and its diameter 9 mm.
- The apex of the shell is carmine, while the rest is dark purplish or ferrugineous brown.
- The profound umbilicus is bordered by a marginal rib bearing about four white teeth.
- This species occurs in the Red Sea, Central and East Indian Ocean, and off Australia.
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