Ranularia caudata

Ranularia caudata
Apertural view of Ranularia caudatua (Gmelin, 1791)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Cymatiidae
Genus: Ranularia
Species:
R. caudata
Binomial name
Ranularia caudata
(Gmelin, 1791)
Synonyms[1]
  • Buccinum costatum Meuschen, F.C., 1787
  • Cymatium (Ranularia) caudatum (Gmelin, J.F., 1791)
  • Murex caudatus Gmelin, 1791 (basionym)
  • Triton canaliferum Lamarck, 1822
  • Tritonium varicosum Link, 1807
  • Tritonocauda caudata (Gmelin, 1791)
  • Tritonocauda caudata vulticula Iredale, 1936

Ranularia caudata, common name the bent-neck triton, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cymatiidae.[1]

Description

(Described in Latin as Triton canaliferum Lamarck, 1822) The shell is somewhat pear-shaped and features a distinct siphonal canal at the base. The surface is sculpted with transverse furrows and longitudinal, fold-like nodules, which create a slightly decussated (criss-crossed) texture. Its coloration is a tawny-white.

The whorls are channeled at the sutures, and the spire is notably short. The most striking feature is the siphonal canal, which is remarkably slender and graceful.[2]

The size of a shell of an adult snail varies between 38 mm and 94 mm.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific along Tanzania.

References

  1. ^ a b Ranularia caudata (Gmelin, 1791). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 6 December 2018.
  2. ^ Lamarck, [J.-B. M.] de (1822). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Tome septième, 711 pp. Paris: privately published. p. 184. Retrieved 7 February 2026.