Harpa davidis

Harpa davidis
Five views of a shell of Harpa davidis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Muricoidea
Family: Harpidae
Genus: Harpa
Species: H. davidis
Binomial name
Harpa davidis
Röding, 1798
Synonyms[1]
  • Harpa conoidalis Lamarck, 1822
  • Harpa major Röding, 1798
  • Harpa nablium Mörch, 1852
  • Harpa ventricosa Lamarck, 1816

Harpa davidis, common name the Madras harp or David harp, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Harpidae, the harp snails.[1]

Distribution

This species is widespread over Indo-Pacific, from eastern Africa to Hawaii and it is present in the South Eastern India and in the Andaman Sea.[2][3][4]

A shell of Harpa davidis

Habitat

The Madras harp lives on sublittoral and offshore sandy bottoms at depths of 5 to 250 m.[5]

Description

Shells of Harpa davidis can reach a size of 60–119 millimetres (2.4–4.7 in).[2] These shells are usually smoothy and glossy, pale brown or reddish-brown, with strong axial ribs, a wide aperture and characteristic decorative markings. The ventral side of body whorl usually shows two-three large brown blotches,[5] but may also be completely brown.

Bibliography

  • Hughes, R.N. and W.K. Emerson. 1987. Anatomical and taxonomic characteristics of
  • HarpaandMorum(Neogastropoda: Harpaidae). Veliger, 29(4):349-358.
  • Rehder, H.A. 1973. The family Harpidae of the world. Indo-Pac. Moll., 3(16):207-274.
  • Walls, J.G. 1977. Another viewpoint on the living harps.The Pariah, 4:1-4.
  • Walls, J.G. 1980.Conchs, tibias, and harps. T.F.H., Reigate, 191

References

  1. 1 2 Harpa davidis Röding, 1798.  Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 25 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 Hardy's Internet Guide to Marine Gastropods
  3. ↑ GBIF
  4. ↑ Encyclopedia of life
  5. 1 2 FAO - Horse conchs, spindle shells

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.