Atlanta turriculata d'Orbigny, 1836
This species is easily identified by the feature for which it was named; the spire forms a tall turret-like structure and is the only species with this spire shape.
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The spire is formed of 4¼ whorls and is a tall thin turret shape.
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The spire is covered in numerous interrupted spiral lines and a tall ridge runs around the middle of each whorl.
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The spire varies in colour from light purple to red and deep brown.
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The adult shell is very small, reaching only 1.8 mm.
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The keel is tall and transparent and inserts between the final and penultimate whorls in large specimens.
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Eye type a, operculum type a, radula type I.
Similar species:
Further Reading:
Seapy, R.R. 1990. The pelagic family Atlantidae (Gastropoda: Heteropoda) from Hawaiian waters: a faunistic survey. Malacologia, 32: 107–130.
Seapy, R.R. 2011. Atlantidae. In: Tree of life web project. Available at http://tolweb.org/Atlantidae accessed 1 April 2017.
Seapy, R.R., Lalli, C.M., Wells, F., 2003. Heteropoda from Western Australian waters., in: The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth, pp. 513–546.
Wall-Palmer, D., Burridge, A.K., Goetze, E., Stokvis, F., Janssen, A.W., Mekkes, L., Moreno-Alcántara, M., Bednaršek, N., Schiøtte, T., Vinther Sørensen, M., Smart, C.W., Peijnenburg, K.T.C.A. Biogeography and genetic diversity of the atlantid heteropods. Progress in Oceanography, 160:1–25. doi: 10.1016/j.pocean.2017.11.004
Wall-Palmer, D., Metcalfe, B., Leng, M.J., Sloane, H.J., Ganssen, G., Vinayachandran, P.N., Smart, C.W. Vertical distribution and diurnal migration of atlantid heteropods. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 587: 1–15. doi: 10.3354/meps12464.
Wall-Palmer, D., Smart, C.W., Kirby, R., Hart, M.B., Peijnenburg, K.T.C.A., Janssen, A. 2016. A review of the ecology, palaeontology and distribution of atlantid heteropods (Caenogastropoda: Pterotracheoidea: Atlantidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 1-14.
