Halgyrineum louisae

Halgyrineum louisae is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ranellidae, the triton snails, triton shells or tritons.^[2]

Description

The shell is up to 28 mm high, with a rather high spire, characteristically flattened along an axis perpendicular to the aperture.^[2] Protoconch is with 3 whorls, the protoconch I is less than one whorl with a frosted surface, the protoconch II with a conspicuous sculpture of axial ribs and spiral cords, both narrower than the interspaces and forming a regular lattice.^[2] Teleoconch is with 5-6 rounded whorls.^[2] Sculpture of low, subequal spiral cords, as broad as the interspaces, with low and narrow axial ribs forming small knobs at their intersection with the cords.^[2] Varixes are situated along the broadest section of the shell, moderately thick, repeated after a little more than half a whorl so that they are slightly and regularly offset along the spire, overrun by the spirals.^[2] The aperture is oval; outer lip faintly fluted inside; parietal and columellar edge forming a continuous callus, the parietal edge with a small but well-marked denticle, the columella is faintly tuberculate.^[2] Siphonal canal is open, moderate in length.^[2] Shell colour is from very light tan to whitish.^[2]

Distribution

The type locality is Oahu, Hawaii, 180 fathoms (333 m).^[2]

Distribution of Halgyrineum louisae include:

• scattered localities in the Indo-Pacific: Hawaii, French Polynesia, the Norfolk Ridge, New Caledonia, and Réunion, with a depth range 80–460 m.^[2]
• the Atlantic: Great Mteor, Hyères and Irving seamounts, rare in 310–460 m.^[2]

Life cycle

Type of larval development: long planktotrophic (teleplanic), inferred from multispiral protoconch with well-developed protoconch II.^[2]

References

This article incorporates CC-BY-SA-3.0 text from the reference.^[2]