Vexillum ebenus, common name : the ebony mitre, 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 small sea snail

Sea snail

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

, 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...

 Costellariidae

Costellariidae

Costellariidae sometimes called the "ribbed miters" is a taxonomic family of minute to medium-sized predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. This family of snails is also sometimes referred to as Vexillum miters...

, the ribbed miters.

Description

The shell size varies between 20 mm and 36 mm

Distribution

This species is distributed in West European waters and in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

Synonyms

In the course of time, many names have been given to Vexillum (Pusia) ebenus, starting in 1811 with Lamarck

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck , often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist...

who named it Mitra plumbea.

• Mitra bipliata Risso, 1826
• Mitra caffra Scacchi, 1836
• Mitra carna Nardo, 1847
• Mitra congesta Locard, 1886
• Mitra cordierii Maravigna, 1853
• Mitra cornicula Risso, 1826
• Mitra cornicularis Costa, 1829
• Mitra defrancii Payraudeau, B.-C., 1827
• Mitra ebenina Locard, 1886
• Mitra gervilli Payraudeau, B.-C., 1827
• Mitra littoralis Risso, A., 1826
• Mitra lutescens albina (f) Monterosato, T.A. de M. di, 1879
• Mitra plumbea Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de, 1811
• Vexillum biplicata Risso, A., 1862
• Vexillum blanci Pallary, P., 1912
• Vexillum caenis Nardo, G.D., 1847
• Vexillum carna Nardo, G.D., 1847
• Vexillum coccinea Bucquoy, E.J., Ph. Dautzenberg & G.F. Dollfus, 1882
• Vexillum congesta Locard, E.A.A., 1886
• Vexillum cordierii Maravigna, C., 1840
• Vexillum gracilis Locard, E.A.A., 1890
• Vexillum inflata Monterosato, T.A. de M. di, 1880
• Vexillum nigra Pallary, P., 1900
• Vexillum servaini Locard, E.A.A., 1890
• Vexillum tunetana Pallary, P., 1903
• Voluta caffra Olivi, A.G., 1792