Aesopus (gastropod)
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| Aesopus | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype of Aesopus guyanensis (at MNHN, Paris) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Neogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Buccinoidea |
| Family: | Columbellidae |
| Genus: | Aesopus Gould, 1860 |
| Type species | |
| Aesopus japonicus Gould, 1860 | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Aesopus (Lavesopus) Iredale, 1929· accepted, alternate representation | |
Aesopus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails.[1]
(Original description in Latin) The animal is white with a sole that is emarginate anteriorly and obtuse posteriorly, featuring a flabelliform horny cover. It has a small head with external medial eyes and a wide, very short siphon.
The shell is fusiform and humpbacked, with a widely truncated anterior. The lunate aperture has its posterior corner filled with callus. The columella is simple and vitreous, while the suture near the aperture is abnormally arched.
The backward angle and downward curvature of the body whorl are quite peculiar. The form and appearance of the shell, along with the structure of the animal, suggest that it occupies an intermediate position between the genera Mitra and Columbella.[2]
