Punctacteon amakusaensis T. Habe, 1961

Description

A small acteonid snail reaching about 7 mm in shell length, with a comparatively tall spire for the genus. The shell is relatively thin, whitish overall, and bears scattered pale pinkish-brown blotches. The entire surface is sculptured with punctured spiral grooves. The columellar fold is strongly developed and the umbilicus is absent. As in other Acteonidae, the shell is ovate with a strong operculum that nearly closes the aperture, and the animal withdraws entirely into the shell. The species lives buried in sandy mud.

Distribution

In the original description (Habe, 1961, Coloured Illustrations of the Shells of Japan II) the species was recorded only from the west coast of Kyushu, on sandy mud bottoms in 10–30 m depth. Okutani (ed.) 2000 (Marine Mollusks in Japan) extended the recorded range from Kyushu southward to Okinawa, in the same depth range.

Etymology

The specific epithet amakusaensis is a Latin adjective referring to Amakusa, an island group off western Kyushu (Kumamoto Prefecture); the suffix -ensis denotes geographic origin. The original author, Tadashige Habe, was based at the Amakusa Marine Biological Laboratory of Kyushu University at the time of publication.

Remarks

The genus Punctacteon Kuroda & T. Habe, 1961 was erected in the same publication as this species. Many small acteonids in Japanese waters are placed in this genus.

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References

• アマクサキジビキガイ Punctacteon amakusaensis Habe, 1961, 奥谷喬司. (2000). 日本近海産貝類図鑑. 東海大学出版会.