Persicula
Encyclopedia
Persicula is a taxonomic genus
of minute to small predatory sea snail
s, marine
gastropod mollusks. It includes several species which are micromollusk
s.
This genus is placed in the family Cystiscidae
. It was previously in the family Marginellidae
the margin snails. Both families are within the clade Neogastropoda
.
(Note: Gastropod taxonomy
has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all the on-going changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)
is usually immersed. The lip of the aperture
is thickened, and weakly to strongly lirate.
An external varix
can be present or absent. There is a distinct siphonal notch present and a posterior notch is also present. The collumela is multiplicate, with 4 to 13 plications plus parietal lirae.
s, and the siphon is also usually long. The mantle
appears not to extend completely over the external shell surface.
is not well-defined. It is based on morphological differences with the larger species (showing a complex color pattern) belonging to Persicula, while the smaller species (showing a banded or uniform color pattern) belong to Gibberula. Many species with characteristics that fall between the two extremes, are ambiguous. Up to now (2010) there is no phylogenetic analysis to substantiate this rather arbitrary classification.
According to the World Register of Marine Species
(WoRMS), the following species with valid names are included within the genus Persicula :
The following species are mentioned in the database gastropods.com :
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of minute to small predatory sea snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusks. It includes several species which are micromollusk
Micromollusk
A micromollusk is a descriptive term for a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also reach adult size at very small...
s.
This genus is placed in the family Cystiscidae
Cystiscidae
Cystiscidae is a taxonomic family of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks.- Description :The shell is minute to large, either white, uniformly colored, or patterned; the surface is smooth, sculptured, or axially costate; the spire is flat to immersed, or low to tall; the...
. It was previously in the family Marginellidae
Marginellidae
Marginellidae, or the margin shells, are a taxonomic family of small, often colorful, sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Neogastropoda.- Taxonomy :...
the margin snails. Both families are within the clade Neogastropoda
Neogastropoda
Neogastropoda is an unranked taxonomic clade of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. For many years prior to 2005 Neogastropoda was an order.- Description :...
.
(Note: Gastropod taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
has been in flux for more than half a century, and this is especially true currently, because of new research in molecular phylogeny. Because of all the on-going changes, different reliable sources can yield very different classifications.)
Shell description
In this genus the shell is minute to small. It can be uniformly colored or white, and the color can be patterned. The shell is moderately thick to thick. The spireSpire (mollusc)
A spire is a descriptive term for part of the coiled shell of mollusks. The word is a convenient aid in describing shells, but it does not refer to a very precise part of shell anatomy: the spire consists of all of the whorls except for the body whorl...
is usually immersed. The lip of the aperture
Aperture (mollusc)
The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....
is thickened, and weakly to strongly lirate.
An external varix
Varix (mollusc)
A varix is an anatomical feature of the shell of certain sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs.It is a thickened axial ridge in the shell of some families of gastropods. A varix is located at intervals around the whorl, and is formed by considerable thickening of the outer lip at a resting stage...
can be present or absent. There is a distinct siphonal notch present and a posterior notch is also present. The collumela is multiplicate, with 4 to 13 plications plus parietal lirae.
Description of soft parts
The animal has long tentacleTentacle
A tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
s, and the siphon is also usually long. The mantle
Mantle (mollusc)
The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...
appears not to extend completely over the external shell surface.
Type species of the genus
P. variabilis Schumacher, 1817 = Voluta persicula Linné, 1758Species
The separation between the genera Persicula and GibberulaGibberula
Gibberula is a genus of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae, previously placed in the family Marginellidae, the margin shells or marginellids....
is not well-defined. It is based on morphological differences with the larger species (showing a complex color pattern) belonging to Persicula, while the smaller species (showing a banded or uniform color pattern) belong to Gibberula. Many species with characteristics that fall between the two extremes, are ambiguous. Up to now (2010) there is no phylogenetic analysis to substantiate this rather arbitrary classification.
According to the World Register of Marine Species
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species is a database that hopes to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialists on each group of organism. These taxonomists control the quality of the...
(WoRMS), the following species with valid names are included within the genus Persicula :
- Persicula bagnePersicula bagnePersicula bagne is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Faber, 2006 - Persicula bahamasensisPersicula bahamasensisPersicula bahamasensis is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Petuch, 2002 - Persicula bandera Coan & Roth, 1965
- Persicula calculus Redfield, 1870
- Persicula canaryensisPersicula canaryensisPersicula canaryensis is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
(Clover, 1972) - Persicula chrysomelina Redfield, 1848
- Persicula cingulataPersicula cingulataPersicula cingulata is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
(Dillwyn, 1817) - Persicula cordorae Jong & Coomans, 1988
- Persicula corneaPersicula corneaPersicula cornea is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
(Lamarck, 1822) - Persicula frumentum Sowerby II, 1832
- Persicula hennequiniPersicula hennequiniPersicula hennequini is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Boyer, Neefs & Wickfield, 1998 - Persicula interruptolineata Muhlfeld, 1816
- Persicula maculosa (Kiener, 1834)
- Persicula maldivianaPersicula maldivianaPersicula maldiviana is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Cossignani, 2001 - Persicula masirana Roth & Petit, 1972
- Persicula multilineata Sowerby II, 1846
- Persicula muralis Hinds, 1844
- Persicula obesa Redfield, 1846
- Persicula persiculaPersicula persiculaPersicula persicula, common name : the spotted marginella, is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae.-Description:The shell size varies between 13 mm and 25 mm...
(Linné, 1758) T - Persicula porcellana Gmelin, 1791
- Persicula pulchella Kiener, 1830
- Persicula pulcherrima Gaskoin, 1849
- Persicula quemeneriPersicula quemeneriPersicula quemeneri is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Cossignani, 2001 - Persicula sagittata Hinds, 1844
- Persicula thomensis Tomlin, 1918
- Persicula vanpeliPersicula vanpeliPersicula vanpeli is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
Moolenbeek & van der Bijl, 2008 - Persicula weberi Olsson & McGinty, 1958
The following species are mentioned in the database gastropods.com :
- Persicula accola Roth & Coan, 1968
- Persicula adamsiana Pilsbry & Love, 1932
- Persicula albomaculata May, 1911
- Persicula blanda Hinds, 1844 : synonym of Persicula cornea blanda (Hinds, 1844)
- Persicula brinkae Bozzetti, 1993 : synonym of Gibberula brinkae (Bozzetti, 1993)
- Persicula bulbulina Locard
- Persicula cassidiforme Gaskoin, 1853 : synonym of Pachybathron cassidiforme (Gaskoin, 1853)
- Persicula catenata Montagu, 1803 : synonym of Gibberula catenataGibberula catenataGibberula catenata is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
(Montagu, 1803) - Persicula cypraeoides Adams, 1845 : synonym of Pachybathron cypraeoides (Adams, C.B., 1845)
- Persicula danilai Bozzetti, 1992
- Persicula deburghi A. Adams, 1864
- Persicula denansiana Ancey, 1881
- Persicula fluctuata Adams, 1850 : synonym of Gibberula fluctuataGibberula fluctuataGibberula fluctuata is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae....
(Adams, 1850) - Persicula hilli Smith, 1950
- Persicula imbricata Hinds, 1844
- Persicula kienerianum Petit, 1838 : synonym of Pachybathron kieneriana (Petit de la Saussaye, S., 1838)
- Persicula persiculocingulata Tournier, 1997 : synonym of Persicula persiculaPersicula persiculaPersicula persicula, common name : the spotted marginella, is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Cystiscidae.-Description:The shell size varies between 13 mm and 25 mm...
(Linnaeus, C., 1758) - Persicula phrygia Sowerby III, 1846
- Persicula rashafuni Bozzetti, 1993
- Persicula robusta Sowerby III, 1904
- Persicula shepstonensis Smith, 1906
- Persicula tayrona Diaz & Velasquez, 1987: synonym of Pachybathron tayrona Díaz, J.M. & Velasquez, 1987
- Persicula testai Bozzetti, 1993