Bayerotrochus midas
Species of gastropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bayerotrochus midas, common name King Midas's slit shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pleurotomariidae.[1] This gastropod is distinguished by its uniquely structured shell featuring a characteristic slit (or selenizone) and is an important representative of the Vetigastropoda—a clade known for its ancient lineage and specialized shell morphology .[2]
| Bayerotrochus midas | |
|---|---|
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| Live animal of Bayerotrochus midas | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Vetigastropoda |
| Order: | Pleurotomariida |
| Family: | Pleurotomariidae |
| Genus: | Bayerotrochus |
| Species: | B. midas |
| Binomial name | |
| Bayerotrochus midas (Bayer, 1966) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Taxonomy
Bayerotrochus midas was originally described by F. M. Bayer in 1966 (with the original publication dated 1965) under the name Perotrochus midas. Subsequent taxonomic revisions transferred the species to the genus Bayerotrochus,[3] which was coined in honor of marine biologist Frederick M. Bayer. The accepted taxonomic classification is as follows:[4]
Description
Distribution
This species occurs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico; in the Atlantic Ocean off the Bahamas. Bayerotrochus midas is found in warm, tropical to subtropical marine waters of the Atlantic region.