Aesopus pallidulus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails.[1]

Aesopus pallidulus
Shell of Aesopus pallidulus (holotype in the Australian Museum)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Columbellidae
Genus: Aesopus
Species:
A. pallidulus
Binomial name
Aesopus pallidulus
(Hedley, 1906)
Synonyms[1]

Mitromorpha pallidula Hedley, 1906 (superseded combination)

Description

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The length of the shell attains 4.6 mm, its diameter 1.5 mm.

(Original description) The shell is small and narrow with a fusiform shape, tapering to blunt ends. It consists of five oblique whorls, including a protoconch that comprises one and a half whorls. The shell is dull white with two narrow, pale brown spiral bands on the body whorl: one at the periphery and the other between the periphery and the siphonal canal. The lower band is more distinct, spreading over five ridges and furrows.

Sculpture: The dome-shaped protoconch features fine, closely spaced radial riblets, ending with a slight varix. The teleoconch begins abruptly with seven evenly spaced spiral ridges and equal furrows, which gradually increase in size and number. On the body whorl, the ridges total twenty-six, becoming smaller and more crowded towards the anterior. The ridges are square in cross-section, polished, and slightly narrower than the flat furrows, which are radially striated.

The aperture is narrow with an excavate columella. The anal sinus is indistinguishable, and the siphonal canal forms a notch.[2]

Distribution

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This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.

References

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  1. ^ a b WoRMS. "Aesopus pallidulus (Hedley, 1906)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  2. ^ Hedley, C. (1906). Studies on Australian Mollusca. Part IX. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 30: 520–546   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • Gatliff, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. 1922. Additions to and alterations in the catalogue of Victorian marine Mollusca. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria n.s. 34(2): 128–161
  • Grove, S.J., Kershaw, R.C., Smith, B.J. & Turner, E. 2006. A Systematic List of the Marine Molluscs of Tasmania. Launceston, Tasmania : Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery 120 pp.
  • Macpherson, J.H. & Gabriel, C.J. 1962. Marine molluscs of Victoria. Melbourne : Melbourne University Press & National Museum of Victoria 475 pp.