Scaphander
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| Scaphander | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Three preserved specimens of Scaphander lignarius, from left to right, the anterior, anterior, and posterior ends are at the top of the image | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Infraclass: | Euthyneura |
| Superfamily: | Philinoidea |
| Family: | Scaphandridae |
| Genus: | Scaphander Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
| Bulla lignaria Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Scaphander is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Scaphandridae, the canoe bubbles.[1]
(Described as Meloscaphander) The shell is ovate, convex in its upper part, and tapers below, with a low, slightly exserted spire. The aperture is large but shorter than the shell, and the columella is moderately curved and thick. The surface is sculpted with rows of spiral pits. [2]
(Described as Scaphander (Sabatina) ) In most, if not all, species of this proposed subgenus, the callosity on the body does not form a distinct "fold." Instead, it appears as an amorphous mass, which sometimes may be granular, smooth, or occasionally tubercular in texture. While the typical fossil species seems to have an interiorly produced callus, the recent species differ notably from Bellardi’s fossil. They not only lack the same callus characteristics but also exhibit a globose shell shape rather than the pyriform shape seen in the fossil. For these globose recent species, I propose the name Sabatina, with Scaphander sabatina planeticus Dall, 1908 as the type. These species possess an animal capable of fully retracting into the shell, with gastroliths identical to those found in Scaphander lignarius. [3]
