Phrontis alba

Phrontis alba, common name the variable dog whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.

Phrontis alba
Phrontis alba shell
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Nassariidae
Genus:	Phrontis
Species:	P. alba
Binomial name
Phrontis alba (Say, 1826)
Synonyms
Nassa alba Say, 1826 Nassa annelifera Reeve, 1853 Nassa candei d'Orbigny in Sagra, 1843 Nassa clathratula A. Adams, 1852 Nassa obtusata A. Adams, 1852 Nassa pura Marrat, 1877 Nassa quinquecostata Marrat, 1880 † Nassarius (Uzita) floridensis Olsson, A.A. & A. Harbison, 1953 Nassarius (Uzita) albus (Say, 1826) Uzita alba (Say, 1826)

The variety Nassarius albus var. nanus Nowell-Usticke, 1959 is a synonym of Phrontis karinae Nowell-Usticke, 1971

Description

The length of the shell varies between 6 mm and 13 mm.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Lesser Antilles; in the Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina, USA to Brazil.

References

• Cernohorsky W. O. (1984). Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum 14: 1–356.
• Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
• Petuch E.J. & Myers R.F. (2014). Molluscan communities of the Florida Keys and adjacent areas. Their ecology and biodiversity. CRC Press, Boca Raton. 300 pp.
• Galindo L.A., Puillandre N., Utge J., Lozouet P. & Bouchet P. (2016). The phylogeny and systematics of the Nassariidae revisited (Gastropoda, Buccinoidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 99: 337-353

External links

• "Nassarius (Nassarius) albus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.