Mitra (gastropod)

Mitra is a large genus of medium to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Mitridae, the miter shells or mitre snails.[1]

Mitra
A drawing of a live individual of Mitra mitra showing its long proboscis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Clade: Caenogastropoda
Clade: Hypsogastropoda
Clade: Neogastropoda
Family: Mitridae
Subfamily: Mitrinae
Genus: Mitra
Lamarck, 1798
Type species
Mitra mitra (Linnaeus, 1758)
Species

See text.

Synonyms[1]
  • Mitra (Mitra) Lamarck, 1798
  • Mitra (Papalaria) Dall, 1915
  • Mitra (Sohlia) Cernohorsky, 1970
  • Mitraria Rafinesque, 1815 (established, without diagnosis or included species, as a substitute name for Mitra Lamarck, 1798)
  • Tiarella Swainson, 1840

This genus is named after the ecclesiastical headgear, the miter, because of the shells' general shape.

These sea snails create shells that are considered attractive by shell collectors; the shells are solid, high-spired and are often colorful.

Species

Many species that were previously in the genus Mitra have been reassigned in the past years to other genera, including Calcimitra, Gemmulimitra, Isara, Nebularia, Neotiara, Pseudonebularia, Quasimitra, Roseomitra, Strigatella and Vexillum. According to the World Register of Marine Species, the following species with accepted names are currently included within the genus Mitra:[1]

Species in this genus also include:[2][3]

  • Mitra brasiliensis Oliveira, 1869
  • Mitra saldanha Matthews & Rios, 1970
Species brought into synonymy

References

  1. Mitra Lamarck, 1798. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 11 December 2018.
  2. "Mitra". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  3. Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
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