Acanthotrophon carduus is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of sea snail

Sea snail

Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....

, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Muricidae

Muricidae

Muricidae, common name murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails. With approximately 1,600 living species the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neogastropoda. Additionally, 1,200 fossil species have been recognised...

 in the genus Acanthotrophon

Acanthotrophon

Acanthotrophon is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.-Species:Species within the genus Acanthotrophon include:* Acanthotrophon carduus...

, the murex snails or rock snails.

Description

The shell is dull white in color with a relatively coarse scaley sculpture consisting of rows of spines with one or two longer spines near the aperture. This taxon is placed in the Trophoninae rather than the Coraliophilidae because it has a radula

Radula

The radula is an anatomical structure that is used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared rather inaccurately to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters the esophagus...

. Compare with Acanthotrophon sentus

Acanthotrophon sentus

Acanthotrophon sentus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae in the genus Acanthotrophon, the murex snails or rock snails.-Description:...

. Length 25 mm, diameter 16 mm.

Distribution

This species is found subtidally in deep water from Mazatlan, Mexico to Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, occurring mostly offshore

Offshore

- Finance and Law :* Offshoring, active movement of companies to offshore centres* Offshore financial centre, jurisdictions which transact financial business with non-residents...

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