Typhinellus insolitus

Typhinellus insolitus
Shell of Typhinellus insolitus (holotype at MNHN, Paris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Muricidae
Subfamily: Typhinae
Genus: Typhinellus
Species:
T. insolitus
Binomial name
Typhinellus insolitus
(Houart, 1991)[1]
Synonyms[2]

Typhis (Typhinellus) insolitus Houart, 1991

Typhinellus insolitus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.[2] The species is known only from its holotype collected off New Caledonia.[3]

Description

The shell is medium-sized for the subgenus, reaching a length of 16.9 mm at maturity. The spire is high, consisting of five teleoconch whorls; the protoconch is broken in the holotype. Sutures are impressed. Each whorl bears four varices. On the last teleoconch whorl, the varices are sharp.[1]

Distribution

Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia. The holotype was collected dead at a depth of approximately 373 m.[1]

Ecology

No information is available on the ecology or life habits of this species. No additional material has been collected since the original description.[3]

Etymology

The specific name insolitus is derived from Latin, meaning "unusual", referring to the unusual shape of the shell.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Houart, Roland (1991). "Description of thirteen new species of Muricidae (Gastropoda) from Australia and the New Caledonian region, with range extensions to South Africa". Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia. 12: 46, 49. doi:10.1080/00852988.1991.10674021. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b Typhinellus insolitus (Houart, 1991). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010.
  3. ^ a b Houart, Roland; Buge, Barbara; Zuccon, Dario (October 2021). "A taxonomic update of the Typhinae (Gastropoda: Muricidae) with a review of New Caledonia species and the description of new species from New Caledonia, the South China Sea and Western Australia" (PDF). Journal of Conchology. 44 (2): 139. Retrieved 29 January 2026.