the arizona night lizard ( xantusia arizonae ) is a small smooth-skinned gray-brown lizard with dark spots that sometimes form partial lines down the back .

the lizard has a slightly flattened head .

the scales of the underside and tail are larger than those of the upper side .

the lizard grows to a length of 6 to 10 cm .

despite its name , the arizona night lizard is primarily active during the day .

the lizard 's range extends across west-central arizona .

it is usually found in rock crevices or under plant debris .

its diet consists of insects and spiders .

the young of the lizard are born live , usually one or two around august or september .

as the lizard tends not to move about and generally avoids humans , not much is known about it .

arizona night lizard

x . henshawi - granite night lizard x . gracilis - sandstone night lizard x . vigilis - desert night lizard x . r . reticulata - san clemente night lizard
x . henshawi - granite night lizard x . gracilis - sandstone night lizard x . sierrae - sierra night lizard x . r . reticulata - san clemente night lizard x . wigginsi - baja california night lizard
welcome to our desert night lizard webpage for owners and desert night lizard enthusiasts . desert night lizard information - it is a secretive lizard of arid and semi - arid locales . more
arizona night lizard by lambert m . surhone , mariam t . tennoe , susan f . henssonow
arizona night lizard ( xantusia arizonae ) arizona | united states of america , ( usa or u . s . a . ) | pinterest | lizards and reptiles
the desert night lizard xantusia vigilis is a night lizard native to southern california east of the sierras and san gabriel mountains into baja california , southern nevada , southwestern utah and extreme western arizona . more
the desert night lizard , xantusia vigilis , is a night lizard native to southern california east of the sierras and san gabriel mountains into baja california , southern nevada , southwestern utah and extreme western arizona .
usa ( w / c arizona ) type locality : yarnell , yavapai county , arizona .
this desert night lizard is diligently looking for food . page 1 subscribe to the lizard lounge rss feed subscribe bookmark and share more
a funny thing about me is that i love to be out and about during the day even though i am called the arizona night lizard .
the desert night lizard is rarely found outside cover . feeding ecology and diet the desert night lizard is insectivorous , feeding primarily on ants and beetles within the confines of yucca logs and agaves . more
the durango night lizard is a diminutive lizard found in the mexican state of durango . it is usually found in niches of agave and yucca plants .
hi , i ' m the arizona night lizard or sometimes i am called xantusia arizonae . i am commonly found in yavapai county in arizona . i love to explore rocky terrain and hide under boulders or dead dry plants .
goldberg , stephen r . and robert l . bezy . 2014 . xantusia arizonae ( arizona night lizard ) reproduction . herpetological review 45 ( 3 ) : 508 - 509
the desert night lizard feeds on ants , flies , beetles , a variety of other insects , and spiders .
bezy , r . l . 1967 . variation , distribution , and taxonomic status of the arizona night lizard ( xantusia arizonae ) . copeia 1967 ( 3 ) : 653 - 661 - get paper here
some of the endemic reptiles are the southern alligator lizard ( elgaria multicarinata ) and the yucca night lizard ( xantusia vigilis ) . other reptilian taxa found in the sierra de la laguna pine - oak forests include the baja california rock lizard ( petrosaurus thalassinus ) , baja california rattlesnake ( crotalus enyo ) and the baja california brush lizard ( urosaurus nigricaudus ) .
bezy , r . l . , 2005 . the night lizards ( xantusia ) of arizona . sonoran herpetologist . 18 ( 2 ) 14 - 19 .
the vertical pupil of desert night lizards , like cat ' s eyes , give them away as creatures of the night and dark places . night lizards are live - bearing , with one to three young per brood . more
the desert night lizard is classified as least concern . does not qualify for a more at risk category . widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category .
bezy , r . l . 2005 . the night lizards ( xantusia ) of arizona . sonoran herpetologist 18 ( 2 ) : 14 - 19 . - get paper here
the desert night lizard is small ( maximum snout - vent length , 1 . 5 in ) and has vertically elliptical pupils lacking eyelids . the lizard is covered with small , granular dorsal scales and 12 longitudinal rows of ventral scales . more
desert night lizard elsewhere on the web * wikipedia edit and show details add or delete facts , download data in json or rdf formats , and explore topic metadata . more
nabhan , gary p . gathering the desert . tucson : university of arizona press , 1985 .
desert night lizard xantusia vigilis description : a small ( up to 57 mm or 2 . 25
from snout to vent ) , soft - skinned lizard with small , dark spots or flecks on a light tan , gray - brown , olive gray , or dark gray background . more
comments : inactive in cold temperatures and extreme heat . may be active at night during the summer .
hanson , roseann beggy and jonathan hanson . southern arizona nature almanac . boulder : pruett publishing co , 1996 .
like all night lizards , the desert night lizard is viviparous , giving birth to live young and producing 1 to 3 young from august to december . the desert night lizard attains a snout - to - vent length ( svl ) of 1 . 5 to 2 . 75 in ( 3 . 8 to 7 . 0 cm ) with a tail roughly the same length . the lizard ' s coloring is usually gray , yellow - brownish , or olive . despite their name , night lizards are active during the day . they are known to easily to change their color , from light olive ( usually during the evening ) to dark brown during the day . it is a good climber and usually eats termites , small insects , spiders and other arthropods .
the night lizards , genus xantusia , have small granular scales on soft skin . xantusia henshawi is shown here .
helminths of night lizards in the genus xantusia ( squamata : xantusiidae ) and the effects of host eco . . .
the desert night lizard is from the order squamata . species from this order are amphisbaenians , lizards or snakes . there are over 6 , 000 living species belonging to the squamata order - it is the largest order of all reptiles . more
a view of some desert night lizards , discovered underneath dead joshua tree branches in the desert , close up and in motion .
the tail breaks off easily and continues wriggling to distract would - be predators long enough for the lizard to run away .
papenfuss , t . j . , macey , j . r . & schulte ii , j . a . 2001 . a new lizard in the genus xantusia from arizona . scientific papers of the natural history museum , university of kansas ( 23 ) : 1 - 9
several subspecies of xantusia vigilis are traditionally recognized , including two in california - x . v . vigilis , and x . v . sierrae . using nuclear dna studies , leavitt et al , 2007 , provide support for the recognition of new species within the x . vigilis complex , including x . wigginsi in california , but they continue to recognize the subspecies x . v . vigilis and x . v . sierrae . in addition , they identify several major clades , four of which occur in california - x . vigilis , x . wigginsi ( now a full species ) , a yucca valley clade , and a san jacinto clade . the 2008 society for the study of amphibians and reptiles standard names list uses x . vigilis based on sinclair et . al ( 2004 , am . nat . 164 : 396 - 141 ) . alternate and previous names ( synonyms ) xantusia vigilis vigilis - yucca night lizard ( stebbins 2003 ) xantusia vigilis vigilis - common night lizard ( stebbins 1985 ) xantusia vigilis vigilis - desert night lizard ( stebbins 1966 ) xantusia vigilis - yucca night lizard ( stebbins 1954 )
the detached tail of a desert night lizard wriggles on the ground . ( it kept wriggling for almost 4 minutes . ) many species of lizards release their tail when they want to escape from a potential predator . the tail then continues to wriggle like a living creature . more
bowers , janice e . a full life in a small place and other essays from a desert garden . tucson , university of arizona press , 1993 .
the following status listings are copied from the april 2018 special animals list and the 2017 endangered and threatened animals list , both of which are published by the california department of fish and wildlife . if no status is listed here , the animal is not included on either cdfw list . this most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal . to find out more about an animal ' s status , you can go to the natureserve and iucn websites to check their rankings . check here to see the most current complete lists . formerly listed as the subspecies xantusia vigilis sierrae - sierra night lizard , this lizard is now listed as the full species xantusia sierrae - sierra night lizard .
northwestern border , up the western grand canyon to the vicinity of powell plateau , and down into several mountain ranges in southwestern arizona . it occurs at elevations ranging from about 150 m ( 500 ' ) in southwestern arizona to nearly 2 , 000 m ( 7 , 000 ' ) on the peaks of our northwestern ranges .
this adult lizard dropped its tail as a defesive measure . ( you can see the tail wriggling after it was dropped off in the video below . )
the detached tail of a desert night lizard wriggles on the ground . ( it kept wriggling for almost 4 minutes . ) many species of lizards release their tail when they want to escape from a potential predator . the tail then continues to wriggle like a living creature . the aim is to momentarily distract the predator away from the lizard ' s vulnerable body , allowing it to escape , while the predator is left holding or trying to catch the expendable tail . this tail dropping is called
autotomy .
losing the tail does not seriously harm the lizard , and may save its life , but the loss of a tail might have a negative effect on the lizard ' s social standing . dropped tails do grow back , but these regenerated tails are often not as long or as perfect as the original .
due to its small range , the sierra night lizard is very suceptible to any habitat alteration . this lizard needs exfoliated and fissured granite outcrops to survive . it takes thousands of years for this exfoliation and fissuring to occur , so this habitat will not be replaced for many centuries . when flakes and slabs are torn off rock outcrops by someone searching for this lizard or other reptiles , the habitat is irreparably damaged . such rock destruction is illegal in california :
it is unlawful to use any method or means of collecting that involves breaking apart of rocks , granite flakes , logs or other shelters in or under which reptiles may be found .
( 2007 regulations 5 . 60 . 4 . ) however , this does not protect the lizard from other sources of rock destruction including human development of its habitat .
leavitt , dean h . ; robert l . bezy , keith a . crandall and jack w . sites jr 2007 . multi - locus dna sequence data reveal a history of deep cryptic vicariance and habitat - driven convergence in the desert night lizard xantusia vigilis species complex ( squamata : xantusiidae ) . molecular ecology 16 : 4455–4481 - get paper here
there is a smaller group of annual species that grow only in response to summer rains . annual devil’s claw ( proboscidea parviflora ) and arizona poppy ( kallstroemia grandiflora ) are among the few showy ones .
little is known about this lizard ' s reproduction . related california xantusiids breed in late spring and the young are born live , 1 - 3 per brood , from august to october .
jones , k . b . ; abbas , d . r . & bergstedt , t . 1981 . herpetological records from central and northeastern arizona . herpetological review 12 ( 1 ) : 16 - get paper here
is found in several mountain ranges within sonoran desertscrub . it inhabits rugged slopes and boulder fields and shelters under dead plants such as agave , yucca , and prickly pear and , in northwestern arizona , in rock crevices .
a small thin lizard with soft skin with fine granular scales on most of the body , a head covered with large plates , lidless eyes with vertical pupils , a gular fold , and a detachable tail . the head and body tend to be flattened , an adaptation to this lizard ' s rock - crevice habitat . dorsal scales in 40 - 44 lengthwise rows at mid - body .
klauber , laurence m . 1931 . a new species of xantusia from arizona , with a synopsis of the genus . transactions of the san diego society of natural history 7 ( 1 ) : 1 - 16 - get paper here
little is known about the diet of this lizard . presumably it is similar to other related california xantusiids , which eat small invertebrates such as ants , termites , beetles , caterpillars , crickets , and spiders .
i am commonly found in the yavapai county of arizona . i love rocky terrain with big boulders to build my home under . i also can find shelter in small crevices between rocks or under dead plants like a prickly pear or yucca .
unusually for a lizard it forms family social groups with a father - mother pair and offspring , which may delay dispersing for years . the young are capable of feeding themselves but will huddle together with their relatives .
this species is endemic to the southwestern united states . the range includes only a small area in arizona ; a recent taxonomic change that recognized x . arizonae as a distinct species and that described a new species ( x . bezyi ) in arizona ( papenfuss et al . 2001 ) did not precisely define the range of x . arizonae . a phylogeographic analysis of xantusia by sinclair et al . ( 2004 ) determined that x . arizonae has a smaller range than depicted by stebbins ( 2003 ) .
when frightened , runs away quickly and dashes under cover . the tail breaks off easily and continues wriggling to distract would - be predators as the lizard runs away as you can see in this video . this does not hurt the lizard , although it might suffer from the stress of attempted predation , the loss of fatty energy that is stored in the tail , and have difficulties finding a mate during breeding season due to a less healthy appearance .
the range extends from southern utah , western and central arizona , southern nevada , and southern california south to southwestern sonora and throughout most of baja california , mexico ( grismer 2002 , stebbins 2003 ) . some arizona populations formerly included in this species are now regarded as x . arizonae and x . bezyi ( papenfuss et al . 2001 ) . a population in northern durango is now recognized as x . extorrus . see feldman et al . ( 2003 ) for discussion of distribution in the southern sierra nevada region of california .
in the spring it is time for me to think about having new little night lizards . i will mate in the spring and then in the late summer i will have one or maybe two babies . wow , they can keep me busy !
vicario , saverio ; adalgisa caccone and jacques gauthier 2003 . xantusiid
night
lizards : a puzzling phylogenetic problem revisited using likelihood - based bayesian methods on mtdna sequences . molecular phylogenetics and evolution 26 ( 2 ) : 243 - 261 - get paper here
desert night lizards have a lot of personality , and stalk their insect prey with a cat - like twitching tail . take care if you must handle them , for they may try to escape your grasp , and can be very wiggly . . . more
p rotection stored water in an arid environment requires protection from thirsty animals . most succulent plants are spiny , bitter , or toxic , and often all three . some unarmed , nontoxic species are restricted to inaccessible locations . smooth prickly pear ( opuntia phaeacantha var . laevis ) and live - forever ( dudleya spp . ) grow on vertical cliffs or within the canopies of armored plants . still others rely on camouflage ; arizona night - blooming cereus ( peniocereus greggii ) closely resembles the dry stems of the shrubs in which it grows .
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first locality records for mono county were published in 2016 ( herpetological review 47 ( 3 ) , 2016 ) extending the range to the northernmost localities for the species west of utah . the range extends east of california into nevada , arizona , and extreme southwest utah and south barely into mexico .
i am a petite lizard that can fit in the palm of your hand . i spend my days sunbathing on rocks very close to dwelling to keep warm throughout the day . i will hide under rocks to keep my safe from predators that want to eat me .
a small thin lizard with soft skin with fine granular scales on most of the body , a head covered with large plates , lidless eyes with vertical pupils , a gular fold , and a detachable tail . dorsal scales in 30 - 50 lengthwise rows at mid - body .
it is a secretive lizard of arid and semi - arid locales . during the day it may be found under fallen debris of desert plants and in rock crevices . it is usually associated with varieties of yucca such as the joshua tree , spanish dagger , and spanish bayonet .
xantusia vigilis - baird , 1858 - proc . acad . nat . sci . philadelphia , vol . 10 , p . 255 xantusia vigilis sierrae - bezy , 1967 - journ . arizona acad . sci . , vol . 4 , p . 163 from original description citations for the reptiles and amphibians of north america © ellin beltz
continent : middle - america north - america distribution : usa ( s california , s nevada , s utah , w / c arizona ) , mexico ( e durango , baja california ) extorris : durango , zacatecas gilberti : mexico ( baja california sur ) ; type locality : san francisquito , sierra laguna , lower california . type locality : fort tejon , california .
this lizard lives in arid and semi - arid habitats among fallen leaves and trunks of yuccas , agaves , cacti , and other large plants , also in crevices of rock outcroppings and under logs and bark of foothill pines ; it ranges locally into pinyon - juniper , sagebrush - blackbrush , and chaparral - oak ( stebbins 2003 ) .
comments : this lizard lives in arid and semiarid habitats among fallen leaves and trunks of yuccas , agaves , cacti , and other large plants , also in crevices of rock outcroppings and under logs and bark of foothill pines ; it ranges locally into pinyon - juniper , sagebrush - blackbrush , and chaparral - oak ( stebbins 2003 ) .
global range : ( 20 , 000 - 2 , 500 , 000 square km ( about 8000 - 1 , 000 , 000 square miles ) ) the range extends from southern utah , western arizona , southern nevada , and southern california south to southwestern sonora and baja california ( grismer 2002 , stebbins 2003 ) . some arizona populations formerly included in this species are now regarded as x . arizonae , x . bezyi , and x . wigginsi ( papenfuss et al . 2001 , sinclair et al . 2004 , leavitt et al . 2007 ) . a population in northern durango is of uncertain taxonomic status ( bezy and flores villela 1999 ) . see feldman et al . ( 2003 , herpetol . rev . 34 : 167 ) for discussion of distribution in the southern sierra nevada region of california .
little is known about this lizard . presumably it is similar to other california xantusiids , being diurnal ( contrary to the common name ) and crepuscular . it is certainly secretive - spending most of its life undercover , and a specialized rock - crevice dweller , living under flakes of granite on rocky outcrops and in rock crevices . it is not typically active on the surface away from cover .
noonan , brice p . ; jennifer b . pramuk , robert l . bezy , elizabeth a . sinclair , kevin de queiroz , jack w . sites jr . 2013 . phylogenetic relationships within the lizard clade xantusiidae : using trees and divergence times to address evolutionary questions at multiple levels . molecular phylogenetics and evolution , volume 69 , issue 1 , october 2013 , pages 109–122 - get paper here
water scarcity is the most important—but not the only—environmental challenge to desert organisms . the aridity allows the sun to shine unfiltered through the clear atmosphere continuously from sunrise to sunset . this intense solar radiation produces very high summer temperatures which are lethal to nonadapted plants . at night much of the accumulated heat radiates through the same clear atmosphere and the temperature drops dramatically . daily fluctuations of 40°f ( 22°c ) are not uncommon when the humidity is very low .
i am a petite lizard that can fit in the palm of your hand . i have little rectangular scales that cover my body . i have small blotches on soft light olive or yellow skin . i enjoy sunbathing on the rocks very close to my shelter to keep warm during the day . my diet includes a variety of spiders and insects . in the late summer i will have one or two babies to keep me busy .
described by bezy in 1967 . several subspecies of xantusia vigilis are traditionally recognized , including two in california - x . v . vigilis x . v . sierrae using nuclear dna studies , leavitt et al , 2007 , provide support for the recognition of new species within the x . vigilis complex , including x . wigginsi in california , but they continue to recognize the subspecies x . v . vigilis and x . v . sierrae . in addition , they identify several major clades , four of which occur in california - x . vigilis , x . wigginsi ( now a full species ) , a yucca valley clade , and a san jacinto clade . the 2008 society for the study of amphibians and reptiles standard names list uses x . sierrae based on sinclair et . al ( 2004 , am . nat . 164 : 396 - 141 ) . alternate and previous names ( synonyms ) xantusia vigilis sierrae - sierra night lizard ( stebbins 1985 , 2003 )
many succulents possess a water - efficient variant of photosynthesis called cam , an acronym for crassulacean acid metabolism . the first word refers to the stonecrop family ( crassulaceae ) in which the phenomenon was first discovered . ( dudleya is in this family , as are hen - and - chickens and jade plant . ) cam plants open their stomates for gas exchange at night and store carbon dioxide in the form of an organic acid . during the day the stomates are closed and the plants are nearly completely sealed against water loss ; photosynthesis is conducted using the stored carbon dioxide . at night the temperatures are lower and humidity higher than during the day , so less water is lost through transpiration . plants using cam lose about one - tenth as much water per unit of carbohydrate synthesized as do those using standard c3 photosynthesis . but there is a trade - off : the overall rate of photosynthesis is slower , so cam plants grow more slowly than most c3 plants . ( an additional limitation is the reduced photosynthetic surface area of most succulents compared with “ordinary” plants . )
wildflower spectacles like the one described above are rare events . mass germination and prolific growth depend on rains that are both earlier and more plentiful than normal . the dazzling displays featured in photographic journals and on postcards occur about once a decade in a given place . in the six decades between 1940 and 1998 there have been only four documented drop - everything - and - go - see - it displays in southern arizona : 1941 , 1978 , 1979 , and 1998 . during that period only the displays of 1978 and 1998 were widespread throughout both the sonoran and mohave deserts .
winter annuals provide most of the color for our famous wildflower shows . woody perennials and succulents can be individually beautiful , but their adaptive strategies require them to be widely - spaced , so they usually don’t create masses of color . a couple of exceptions are brittlebush when it occurs in pure stands , and exten sive woodlands of foothill palo verde ( cercidium microphyllum ) . the most common of the showy winter annuals that contribute to these displays in southern arizona are mexican gold poppy ( eschscholtzia mexicana ) , lupine ( lupinus sparsiflorus ) , and owl - clover ( castilleja exserta , formerly orthocarpus purpurascens ) .
i conducted a wildlife survey in the lower colorado river valley in the 1970s . the site had received almost no biologically effective rainfall for three years . creosote bushes were almost the only plants present ; they were widely - spaced and had shed most of their leaves . yet in the kilometer ( 6 / 10 mile ) long by fifty meter ( 150 foot ) wide transect i trapped one pocket mouse overnight , and in the morning observed a whiptail lizard , a rock wren , and two black - throated sparrows . these are all resident species ; not transitory migrants . what were they living on ?
t rees and large shrubs are fairly dependable bloomers , though flowers will be sparse in dry years . creosote bush ( larrea tridentata ) and whitethorn acacia ( acacia constricta , shown here ) both bloom mainly in spring and sometimes again in summer . blue palo verde ( cercidium floridum ) turns bright yellow in late april , followed two weeks later by the much more abundant but paler yellow foothills palo verde ( c . microphyllum ) . desert ironwood trees ( olneya tesota ) bloom heavily about every other year with masses of lavender flowers , usually in late may . the abundant ocotillo reliably produces spikes of red flowers throughout april . these species bloom about two weeks earlier in western arizona .
the spring flowering season in the arizona upland subdivision spans from mid february to mid june with a peak from mid march to late april depending on rainfall and temperatures during the growing season . in the warmest areas of the lower colorado river valley subdivision it is normally a couple of weeks earlier , though it sometimes starts as early as november . the different life forms which dominate at different times vary in their showyness and reliability . the early - blooming winter annuals can create an incredible display , but do so only rarely . later - blooming species bloom more dependably , but mostly not in great masses of color . the progression of spring bloom described below is for average years near tucson . it may be three weeks earlier or later depending on weather , elevation , and latitude .
papenfuss et al . ( 2001 ) examined genetic and morphological variation of xantusia and reviewed allozyme data from bezy and sites ( 1987 ) . they concluded that three species are represented in arizona : xantusia vigilis , a yucca - dwelling species ; x . arizonae , a granite - adapted species ; and x . bezyi ( newly described ) , another granite - associated species . crother et al . ( 2003 ) listed x . bezyi and x . vigilis as distinct species but included arizonae as a subspecies of x . vigilis . stebbins ( 2003 ) mentioned the taxonomic changes proposed by papenfuss et al . but did not adopt them . sinclair et al . ( 2004 ) examined phylogeographic patterns in xantusia and concluded that x . bezyi is a valid species ( but more widely distributed than previously known ) and that x . arizonae has a smaller range than previously understood .
another diversity - promoting phenomenon is temporal niche separation : the mix of species at the same location changes from year to year . seeds of the various species have different germination requirements . the time of the season ( which influences temperature ) and quantity of the first germination - triggering rain determines which species will dominate , or even be present at all in that year . of the three most common annuals of southern arizona listed above , any one may occur in a nearly pure stand on a given hillside in different years , and occasionally all three are nearly equally abundant . this interpretation of the cause of these year - to - year variations is a hypothesis based on decades of empirical observation . much more research is needed to discover the ecological requirements of most species of desert annuals . and of course the sonoran desert’s two rainy seasons provide two major temporal niches . summer and winter annuals almost never overlap .
the annual habit is a very successful strategy for warm - arid climates . there are no annual plants in the polar regions or the wet tropics . in the polar zones the growing season is too short to complete a life cycle . in both habitats the intense competition for suitable growing sites favors longevity . ( once you’ve got it , you should hang onto it . ) annuals become common only in communities that have dry seasons , where the perennials are widely spaced because they must command a large soil area to survive the drier years . in the occasional wetter years , both open space and moisture are available to be exploited by plants that can do so rapidly . the more arid the habitat , the greater the proportion of annual species in north america . ( the percentage decreases in the extremely arid parts of the saharan - arabian region . ) half of the sonoran desert’s flora is comprised of annual species . in the driest habitats , such as the sandy flats near yuma , arizona , up to ninety percent of the plants are annuals .
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justification : listed as least concern because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category ( its populations are probably stable ) .
this species is represented by at least several distinct occuurrences or subpopulations . sinclair et al . ( 2004 ) mapped six collection sites . the total adult population size is unknown . population trends have not been documented but presumably are relatively stable .
this species is found under exfoliating rock in granite outcrops ( pappenfuss et al . 2001 ) .
the level of protection is uncertain , but the rocky habitat is not readily convertible to destructive human uses . better information is needed on the current conservation status of this species .
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daytime activity takes place under the cover of rocks or plant debris . crevice - dwelling individuals thermoregulate by basking near the sun - warmed edge of the crevice or under sun - warmed rocks .
live bearing . mating presumably takes place in spring and a brood of 1–3 young is born in summer .
stebbins , r . c . 2003 . a field guide to western reptiles and amphibians , third edition . houghton mifflin company , boston , ma .
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my favorite things to eat are spiders and insects . my diet includes juicy beetles , ants and flies if i can catch them . yum ! ! !
i have small blotches that cover my body like tiny freckles . my skin is soft to the touch and is usually a light olive or yellow background . this helps me to blend in with the rocks and helps me hide from predators . i can grow anywhere between 6 and 10 cm in length . my head is slightly flat and wide and it almost looks like a plate . my eyes do not have lids and my pupils are vertical .
you did a great job working on this lesson today . i hope that you had a wonderful time learning about me . so , let’s have fun doing an activity about me . you can work with your friends , parents or teacher . i want you to create a clay model of me . try to include as many of my features that you learned about in the model . after you let your model dry you may paint it too . have fun ! ! !
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xantusia arizonae klauber 1931 xantusia arizonae — klauber 1938 xantusia vigilis arizonae — bezy 1967 xantusia vigilis arizonae — stebbins 1985 xantusia arizonae — papenfuss et al . 2001 xantusia arizonae — vicario et al . 2003 xantusia arizonae — sinclair et al . 2004 xantusia arizonae — leavitt et al . 2007
crother , b . i . ( ed . ) 2012 . standard common and current scientific names for north american amphibians , turtles , reptiles , and crocodilians , seventh edition . herpetological circular 39 : 1 - 92
jones , l . l . & lovich , r . e . 2009 . lizards of the american southwest . a photographic field guide . rio nuevo publishers , tucson , az , 568 pp . [ review in reptilia 86 : 84 ] - get paper here
klauber , laurence m . 1938 . notes from a herpetological diary , i . copeia 1938 ( 4 ) : 191 - 197 - get paper here
klauber , laurence m . 1940 . notes from a herpetological diary , ii . copeia 1940 ( 1 ) : 15 - 18 - get paper here
sinclair , elizabeth a . ; robert l . bezy ; kathryn bolles ; jose l . camarillo r . ; keith a . crandall and < br / > jack w . sites , jr . 2004 . testing species boundaries in an ancient species complex with deep phylogeographic history : genus xantusia ( squamata : xantusiidae ) . american naturalist 164 ( 3 ) : 396 - 414 - get paper here
stebbins , r . c . 1985 . a field guide to western reptiles and amphibians , 2nd ed . houghton mifflin , boston
this database is maintained by peter uetz ( database content ) and jakob hallermann , zoological museum hamburg ( new species and updates ) .
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for additional information on this species , please see the following volumes and pages in the sonoran herpetologist : 2003 apr : 26 - 29 ; 2005 february : 14 - 19 ; 2008 may : 50 - 53 ; 2009 dec : 132 - 133 .
adult , scissors crossing , san diego county © jeff nordland ( xantusia wigginsi has been found at scissors crossing and since appearance alone cannot determine the species , so this could be x . wigginsi . )
1 . 5 - 2 . 75 inches long from snout to vent ( 3 . 8 - 7 cm ) . ( stebbins 2003 )
color is olive , grayish , or brown with light brown or black spots , sometimes forming narrow stripes . a narrow beige stripe , edged in black , extends from the eye to the shoulder . the underside is whitish and made up of large square scales , usually in 12 rows .
eats small invertebrates inhabiting the decaying vegetation in which it lives including ants , termites , beetles , caterpillars , crickets , and spiders .
breeds in late spring . bears live young , 1 - 3 per brood , from august to october .
utilizes a variety of habitats in arid and semi - arid areas , including those grown with joshua tree , desert scrub , pinon - juniper , basin sagebrush , chaparral , pine - oak woodland , and yucca .
found on the desert slopes of the peninsular ranges , throughout the mojave desert , along the east slopes of the sierra nevada mountains north to west of bishop , the inyo and panamint mountains , the greenhorn and piute mountains and upper kern river canyon in the southern sierra nevada mountains , the coastal side of the mountains in upper santa clara river drainage , the headwaters of big tujunga and the upper san gabriel river drainage , and the inner coast ranges at the panoche hills and pinnacles national monument .
from sea level to 9 , 300 ft . ( 2 , 830 m ) . ( stebbins 2003 )
xantusia vigilis - baird , 1858 - proc . acad . nat . sci . philadelphia , vol . 10 , p . 255 from original description citations for the reptiles and amphibians of north america © ellin beltz
the following status listings are copied from the april 2018 special animals list and the 2017 endangered and threatened animals list , both of which are published by the california department of fish and wildlife . if no status is listed here , the animal is not included on either cdfw list . this most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal . to find out more about an animal ' s status , you can go to the natureserve and iucn websites to check their rankings . check here to see the most current complete lists . this animal is not included on the special animals list , which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in california .
color is olive , grayish , or brown with light brown or black spots which tend to be interconnected , forming a dark net - like pattern . a broad and conspicuous stripe extends from the eye to the shoulder . the underside is whitish and made up of large square scales , usually in 12 rows .
inhabits rocky outcrops around granite station in open grassland with scattered oak woodland and low shrubs .
endemic to california . found only in the southwestern foothills of the sierra nevada mountains along the western edge of the greenhorn mountains around granite station , in kern co .
california department of fish and wildlife stebbins , robert c . , and mcginnis , samuel m . field guide to amphibians and reptiles of california : revised edition ( california natural history guides ) university of california press , 2012 . stebbins , robert c . california amphibians and reptiles . the university of california press , 1972 . stebbins , robert c . a field guide to western reptiles and amphibians . 3rd edition . houghton mifflin company , 2003 . behler , john l . , and f . wayne king . the audubon society field guide to north american reptiles and amphibians . alfred a . knopf , 1992 . powell , robert . , joseph t . collins , and errol d . hooper jr . a key to amphibians and reptiles of the continental united states and canada . the university press of kansas , 1998 . bartlett , r . d . & patricia p . bartlett . guide and reference to the turtles and lizards of western north america ( north of mexico ) and hawaii . university press of florida , 2009 . jones , lawrence , rob lovich , editors . lizards of the american southwest : a photographic field guide . rio nuevo publishers , 2009 . smith , hobart m . handbook of lizards , lizards of the united states and of canada . cornell university press , 1946 .
secure—common ; widespread and abundant . [ this ranking apparently refers to the full species that this taxa formerly belonged to , xantusia vigilis , and indicates that the status of the species is secure , not the subspecies . ]
critically imperiled in the state because of extreme rarity ( often 5 or fewer populations ) orbecause of factor ( s ) such as very steep declines making it especially vulnerable to extirpation from the state .
syntype : baird , s . f . 1858 . proc . acad . nat . sci . philadelphia . 10 : 254 .
this taxon is found in the sierra de la laguna pine - oak forest , a mountainous ecoregion which rises from the arid baja california sur , creating islands of unique vegetative communities . there are approximately 694 plant species , approximately 85 of which are endemic to this ecoregion . overall species richness is low to moderate , with a total of only 231 vertebrate taxa . the ecoregion is classified in the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests biome . much of the pine - oak association remains intact due to the inaccessibility of the rugged and inaccessible terrain .
the topographical features and geological events that gave rise to this particular region are responsible for the diversity of climates and vegetation in the same area . the highest strata of mountains , situated at 1600 to 2000 metres ( m ) in elevation , are composed of pine - oak forests that transform into oak - pine forests ( 1200 m ) and oak forests ( 800 m ) as elevation decreases . the climate is temperate sub - humid with summer rains and occasional winter rains .
these pine - oak forests constitute the wettest portions in the state of baja california sur ( 760 millimetres of precipitation annually ) . slight variations in climatic conditions make up three different vegetation assemblages in the temperate forest . pine forests at the highest elevations are dominated by pinus cembroides ssp . lagunae , and understory taxa such as muhlenbergia spp . and festuca spp . pine - oak forests dominated by associations of pinus cembroides subsp . lagunae with quercus devia , arbutus peninsularis , and quercus tuberculata , and a variety of trees of smaller stature such as calliandra peninsularis and mimosa tricephala , with associated shrubs to complement the landscape .
only two amphibian taxa are found in the sierra de la laguna pine - oak forests . the red - spotted toad ( anaxyrus punctatus ) is one anuran found here . the widely distributed california chorus frog ( pseudacris cadaverina ) is another resident of the ecoregion . one other anuran , pseudacris regilla , was previously recognized in the ecoregion , but erecent dna analysis has rendered this taxon of unclear distribution .
of the approximately 30 mammalian species of mammals present , one of them ( an endemic bat ) lives only in pine - oak forests . the level of endemism is high , and this is well demonstrated by the proportion of endemic species with respect to total recorded species . more than ten percent of the mammalian species found at sierra de la laguna are endemic . one notable mammal found along the far west coast , including california and baja , is the ornate shrew ( sorex ornatus ) . there are several threatened mammals found in the sierra de la laguna pine - oak forests , including : the mexican long - tongued bat ( choeronycteris mexicana nt ) . the isolation of this region has contributed to the scarcity of predators , and to the poor competitive ability of some animals . rodents and lagomorphs are virtually absent from the region
the avifauna inhabiting these pine - oak forests is important because half of the bird species breeding at sierra de la laguna only utilize pine - oak forests as breeding habitat . the endemic baja pygmy owl ( glaucidium gnoma hoskinsii ) , along with the white - winged dove ( zenaida asiatica ) and golden eagle ( aquila chrysaetos ) are only a few of the avian species found in this ecoregion . other notable birds in this and the gulf of california xeric scrub ecoregion include the xantus ' s hummingbird ( hylocharis xantusii ) and the endangered peninsular yellowthroat ( geothlypis beldingi en ) . .
non - migrant : yes . at least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations . juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration .
locally migrant : no . no populations of this species make local extended movements ( generally less than 200 km ) at particular times of the year ( e . g . , to breeding or wintering grounds , to hibernation sites ) .
locally migrant : no . no populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km .
comments : eats insects ( e . g . , termites , ants , beetles , and flies ) , spiders , and other arthropods ( behler and king 1979 ; stebbins 1985 ) .
note : for many non - migratory species , occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations .
comments : this species is represented by many occurrences or subpopulations ( e . g . , see map in bezy 1982 ) .
comments : total adult population size is unknown but surely exceeds 10 , 000 and probably exceeds 100 , 000 .
breeding occurs may to june ( behler and king 1979 ) . female gives birth to 1 - 3 young / brood , august - october ( stebbins 1985 ) .
hammerson , g . a . , frost , d . r . & santos - barrera , g .
listed as least concern in view of the probably relatively stable extent of occurrence , area of occupancy , number of subpopulations , and population size . no major threats are known .
this species is represented by many occurrences or subpopulations ( e . g . , see map in bezy 1982 ) . the total adult population size is unknown but surely exceeds 10 , 000 and probably exceeds 100 , 000 . no evidence of a significant overall decline has been reported . the species is common in mexico .
no major threats have been identified , but locally the species likely is locally declining where its habitat has been degraded by commercial and residential development .
comments : no major threats have been identified , but locally the species likely is declining where its habitat has been degraded by commerical and residential development .
at least several occurrences are in national parks . other than some general research activities , no direct conservation measures are needed for this species as a whole .
they do not receive any direct care from their parents and older siblings and it is not yet known what the advantages of staying with their parents are .
the baby lizards are well - camouflaged and are not much bigger than a toothpick .
baird sf . 1859 . description of new genera and species of north american lizards in the museum of the smithsonian institution . proc . acad . nat . sci . phildelphia 10 : 253 - 256 . ( xantusia vigilis , new species , p . 255 ) .
behler jl , king fw . 1979 . the audubon society field guide to north american reptiles and amphibians . new york : alfred a . knopf . 743 pp . isbn 0 - 394 - 50824 - 6 . ( xantusia vigilis , pp . 551 - 552 + plate 406 ) .
boulenger ga . 1885 . catalogue of the lizards in the british museum ( natural history ) . second edition . volume ii . . . . xantusiidæ . london : trustees of the british museum ( natural history ) . ( taylor and francis , printers ) . xiii + 497 pp . + plates i - xxiv . ( xantusia vigilis , pp . 327 - 328 ) .
goin cj , goin ob , zug gr . 1978 . introduction to herpetology , third edition . san francisco : w . h . freeman and company . xi + 378 pp . isbn 0 - 7167 - 0020 - 4 . ( xantusia vigilis , pp . 129 , 132 , 148 , 286 ) .
smith hm , brodie ed jr . 1982 . reptiles of north america : a guide to field identification . new york : golden press . 240 pp . isbn 0 - 307 - 13666 - 3 . ( xantusia vigilis , pp . 84 - 85 ) .
stebbins rc . a field guide to western reptiles and amphibians , third edition . the peterson field guide series ® . boston and new york : houghton mifflin company . xiii + 533 pp . isbn 978 - 0 - 395 - 98272 - 3 . ( xantusia vigilis , pp . 307 - 309 + plate 35 + map 76 ) .
gadsden . h . & santos - barrera , g . ( 2007 ) .
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turridae is a taxonomic family name for a number of predatory sea snails , marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily conoidea .

the family name turridae was originally given to a very large group of several thousand sea snail species that were thought to be closely related .

however , that original grouping was discovered to be polyphyletic .

in recent years , the family turridae has been much reduced in size , because a number of other families were created to contain the monophyletic lineages that had previously been thought to belong in the same family .

the common name " turrids " is still used informally to refer to the polyphyletic group .

turridae

the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1 . the subfamily turrinae
article : the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1 . the subfamily turrinae
powell awb . the family turridae in the indo - pacific : part 1 - the subfamily turrinae .
worms - world register of marine species - turridae h . adams & a . adams , 1853 ( 1838 )
details - the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1 . the subfamily turrinae - biodiversity heritage library
sunderland , k . ( 1991 ) atlantic and caribbean turridae . american conchologist , 19 ( 1 ) , 14–15 .
laseron , c . f . 1954 . the new south wales turridae . royal zoological society nsw . zool . handbook 56 pp .
sunderland , k & sunderland , l . ( 1999 ) western atlantic turridae . american conchologist , 27 ( 3 ) , 16–17 .
hedley , charles . 1922 . a revision of the australian turridae . records of the australian museum 13 ( 6 ) : 213 - 359
sunderland , k & sunderland , l . ( 1993 ) atlantic and caribbean turridae . american conchologist , 21 ( 2 ) , 14–15 .
hedley , c . ( 1922 ) a revision of the australian turridae . records of the australian museum , 13 ( 6 ) , 213–359 . urltoken
williams , m . a . s . ( 2005 ) shallow - water turridae of florida and the caribbean . williams , tallevast , florida , 223 pp .
tippett , d . l . ( 1995 ) taxonomic notes on the western atlantic turridae ( gastropoda : conoidea ) . the nautilus , 109 ( 4 ) , 127–138 .
williams , m . a . s . ( 2006 ) shallow - water turridae of florida and the caribbean , version 3 . williams , tallevast , florida , 233 pp .
williams , m . a . s . ( 2009 ) shallow - water turridae of florida and the caribbean , version 3 . williams , tallevast , florida , 230 pp .
wells , f . e . 1990 . revision of the recent australian turridae referred to the genera splendrillia and austrodrillia . journal of the malacological society of australi a 11 : 73 - 117 .
lyons , w . g . ( 1972 ) new turridae ( gastropoda : toxoglossa ) from south florida and the eastern gulf of mexico . the nautilus , 86 ( 1 ) , 3–7 .
tippett , d . l . ( 2007 ) two new gastropod species ( neogastropoda : drilliidae , turridae ) from the western atlantic ocean . the nautilus , 121 ( 4 ) , 210–213 .
powell , a . w . b . 1964 . the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1 . the subfamily turrinae . indo - pacific mollusca 1 ( 5 ) : 227 - 345
powell , a . w . b . 1969 . the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 2 . the subfamily turriculinae . indo - pacific mollusca 2 ( 10 ) : 207 - 415
fargo , w . g . ( 1953 ) part ii . the pliocene turridae of saint petersburg , florida . academy of natural sciences of philadelphia , monograph , 8 , 361–409 , pls . 16–24 .
powell , a . w . b . 1967 . the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1a . the subfamily turrinae concluded . indo - pacific mollusca 1 ( 7 ) : 409 - 431
kaicher , s . d . ( 1984 ) card catalogue of world - wide shells . pack 39 – turridae . s . d . kaicher , st . petersburg , florida , cards i–ii + 3882–3987 .
odé , h . ( 1993 ) distribution and records of the marine mollusca in the northwest gulf of mexico : family turridae figures . texas conchologist , 29 ( 3 & 4 ) , 68 – 72 .
gibson , t . g . ( 1962 ) revision of the turridae of the miocene st . mary ' s formation of maryland . journal of paleontology , 36 ( 2 ) , 225–246 , pls . 40–42 .
odé , h . ( 1991 ) distribution and records of the marine mollusca in the northwest gulf of mexico ( a continuing monograph ) , family turridae . texas conchologist , 28 ( 1 ) , 13 – 34 .
wells , f . e . 1993 . new records of splendrillia ( gastropoda : turridae ) from northwestern australia , with the description of a new species . journal of the malacological society of australia 14 : 113 - 117 .
mclean , j . h . ( 1971 ) a revised classification of the family turridae , with the proposal of new subfamilies , genera , and subgenera from the eastern pacific . the veliger , 14 ( 1 ) , 114–130 .
kilburn , r . n . ( 1988 ) turridae ( mollusca : gastropoda ) of southern africa and mozambique . part 4 . subfamilies drilliinae , crassispirinae and strictispirinae . annals of the natal museum , 29 ( 1 ) , 167–320 .
melvill , j . c . ( 1923 ) descriptions of twenty - one species of turridae ( pleurotomidae ) from various localities in the collection of mr . e . r . sykes . proceedings of the malacological society of london , 15 , 162–171 .
rolán , e . & espinosa , j . ( 1999 ) el complejo brachycythara biconica ( c . b . adams , 1850 ) ( mollusca : gastropoda : turridae ) en cuba , con la descripcion de una nueva especie . bollettino malacologico , 34 , 43–49 .
powell , a . w . b . ( 1966 ) the molluscan families speightiidae and turridae : an evaluation of the valid taxa , both recent and fossil , with lists of characteristics species . bulletin of the auckland institute and museum , 5 , 1–184 . , 23 pls .
figueira , r . m . a . & absalão , r . s . ( 2010 ) deep - water drilliinae , cochlespirinae , and oenopotinae ( mollusca : gastropoda : turridae ) from the campos basin , southeast brazil . scientia marina , 74 ( 3 ) , 471–481 . urltoken
turridae one of the larger families in shelled molluscs . about 1700 species are found in recent literature . needless to say , their taxonomy is complicated and nomenclature is more than confusing . many species are known only by the types and live on the continental shelves , in bathyal and even abyssal waters .
absalão , r . s . , pimenta , a . d . & caetano , c . h . s . ( 2005 ) turridae ( mollusca , neogastropoda , conoidea ) coletados no litoral sudeste do brasil , programa revizee
score
central . biociências , porto alegre , 13 ( 1 ) , 19–47 .
melvill , j . c . ( 1917 ) a revision of the turridae ( pleurotomidae ) occurring in the persian gulf , gulf of oman and north arabian sea as evidenced mostly through the results of dredgings carried out by mr . f . w . townsend , 1893–1914 . proceedings of the malacological society of london , 12 , 140–201 .
the morphology of some deep - sea turridae lacking radulae was studied . the main features of their digestive system are the absence of a radula sac , venom and salivary glands and the reduction or absence of a proboscis . a new genus teretiopsis including 3 new species and t . thaumastopsis ( dautzenberg and fischer , 1896 ) is described . on the basis of differences of the digestive system when compared with other turrids lacking radulae the monotypical subfamily taraninae casey , 1904 new status ( type genus taranis jeffreys , 1870 ) is considered . it is shown that the process of radula reduction has occurred independently in different phylogenetic lines of toxoglossa—the subfamilies daphnellinae and taraninae among turridae and the family terebridae .
the turridae ( in the traditional , widest sense ) is so large that one strategy might be to identify your species to the appropriate family using bouchet et al . 2011 ( j . molluscan studies , 77 : 273 - 308 ) . then use that family / subfamily or included genera as search terms in your web browser to see who has published on these taxa in recent years . then approach those researchers directly .
ty - jour ti - the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1 . the subfamily turrinae t2 - indo - pacific mollusca . vl - 1 ur - urltoken pb - delaware museum of natural history , etc . cy - greenville , del . , etc . , py - 1964 - 03 - 31 sp - 227 ep - 346 sn - 0073 - 7240 au - powell , a w b er -
barros , j . c . n . , de lima , s . f . b . , da silva , s . v . , santos , m . c . f . & cabrel , e . ( 2005 ) sobre família turridae swainson , 1840 em depósito no laborátório de malacologia da ufrpe e os tipos brasileiros presentes na coleção malacológica do national museum of natural history - smithsonian institution . boletim técnico científico do cepene , 13 , 143–149 .
@ article { bhlpart201044 , title = { the family turridae in the indo - pacific . part 1 . the subfamily turrinae } , journal = { indo - pacific mollusca . } , volume = { 1 } , copyright = { in copyright . digitized with the permission of the rights holder } , url = urltoken publisher = { greenville , del . , etc . , delaware museum of natural history , etc . } , author = { powell , a w b } , year = { 1964 - 03 - 31 } , pages = { 227 - - 346 } , }
there are over 4 , 000 ( described ) living species of turrids worldwide with much of this species diversity in the tropics . ( turridae in the usual sense comprises about 16 living families ) . however , there are probably several thousand unnamed extant species in existing museum collections . in the worst cases , even those genera with large body sizes can comprise a hundred or more undescribed living species - usually misidentified under a few published names - within a single biogeographic region . snaller species ( less than say 10 mm ) usually have a much smaller percentage of their species described and smaller species dominate ' turrid ' faunas .
the classification of the turridae is in a flux . a number of families and / or sub - families have been used , but there is not general agreement upon use of these names by specialists . classification at the generic level is still fluid , and the limited specimens available often make decisions on species boundaries difficult . our knowledge of the nsw fauna is the result of hedley ' s monograph of the australian species ( 1922 ) , and laseron revision of the nsw fauna in 1954 , in which he dealt with 142 species . the monographs of powell ( 1964 , 1967 , 1969 ) also refined nsw turrid systematics .
the biology , feeding ecology and phylogenetic relationships of marine snails in the family turridae remain poorly understood . here we report our study on four deep - water species in the genus gemmula , a major group in this family . the four species g . speciosa ( reeve 1843 ) , g . sogodensis ( olivera 2005 ) , g . kieneri ( doumet 1940 ) and g . diomedea ( powell 1964 ) were collected at five different sites in the philippines , and their pattern of distribution in the sites , their feeding behaviour as well as their phylogenetic relationships with each other and with other members of the subfamily turrinae were investigated . the radular morphology ( of two gemmula species ) and potential prey ( for one gemmula species ) were also examined . actual feeding observations were also conducted for gemmula speciosa and compared with two turrids from other genera .
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nomenclature family names cited with two dates ( the second one in parentheses ) are those ruled by article 40 ( 2 ) of iczn .
if . . . a . . .
nomenclature family names cited with two dates ( the second one in parentheses ) are those ruled by article 40 ( 2 ) of iczn .
if . . . a family - group name was replaced before 1961 because of the synonymy of the type genus , the replacement name is to be maintained if it is in prevailing usage . a name maintained by virtue of this article retains its own author [ and date , the first date cited ] but takes the priority of the replaced name [ the date cited in parentheses , here alluding to pleurotominae gray , 1838 ] [ details ]
bouchet p . & rocroi j . - p . ( 2005 ) . classification and nomenclator of gastropod families . malacologia . 47 ( 1 - 2 ) : 1 - 397 isbn 3 - 925919 - 72 - 4 . [ details ]
( of pleurotomidae ) bouchet p . & rocroi j . - p . ( 2005 ) . classification and nomenclator of gastropod families . malacologia . 47 ( 1 - 2 ) : 1 - 397 isbn 3 - 925919 - 72 - 4 . [ details ]
classification the taxonomy of this family has to be reconsiderd . backeljau ( 1986 ) follows nordsieck ( 1968 , 1977 ) and van aartsen et al . ( 1984 ) [ details ]
this is by far one of the largest families among marine molluscs , containing a great number of species . the family hallmark is a notch or sinus in the upper part of the outer lip , but species are very difficult to identify because of wide variety in speciation . many shells are tapered at both ends ( i . e . ,
fusiform
) , like the babylon turrid shown below . others show variable proportions in lengths between their spire and siphonal canal , while the japanese wonder shell is so unusual as to have been sometimes placed in a family of its own ( thatcheriidae ) . the shells vary widely in both colors and textures .
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the star system calculates the number of pieces that were handled by conchology , inc . in the last 15 years :
we want to point out that the star system is only very reliable for philippine shells only , as we handle very few foreign shells in general . as time goes , the system will become more and more performant .
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the turrids are the largest family of marine gastropods , numbering more than 4 , 000 described species . in a recent paper , bouchet et . al . ( 2004 ) said
turrids sing a hymn to specialisation , rarity and evolutionary innovation
. they reported that 20 years of sampling off new caledonia from the intertidal to 3 , 700 m had turned up 1 , 726 turrid species , as many as 30 % of these species being represented by single specimens . a similar situation no doubt applies to the australian and new south wales fauna , with many species being rarely obtained and a high proportion un - named .
turrids shells show a diversity of shell shapes ; some look like cones , others resemble mitrids , fasciolarids or buccinids . the one feature they have in common is a sinus - an indentation or slit at the upper end of the outer lip , which accommodates the exhalent canal . the sinus sometimes is only a weak depression , sometimes a deep slit , but most commonly a deep , rounded v shaped indentation . turrids are carnivorous , probably all being predatory ; polychaete worms are the major prey of the species of which the diet has been studied . some have a radula and associated poison gland similar to the harpoon - like structure of the cone shells , while others have lost the radula and poison gland . .
the family is represented in nsw by about 150 named species , only a few of which are common , and many of which are quite rare . a few small species occur intertidally under rocks on rocky shores , some occupy the shallow subtidal , down to about 20 metres and are occasionally washed up on beaches , but most occur in deeper water . about a dozen species exceed 20 mm in size , but the majority are quite small , many being under 5 mm in length .
the primary identification feature of turrids is the sinus , the indentation at the top of the outer lip . its shape and position are important for classification . the sinus may be narrow and deep , broad and shallow , or a mere indentation as in members of the subfamily mangelliinae . the apex of the sinus may be on the periphery of the last whorl , at the suture , or on the shoulder slope between suture and periphery . development of the sinus proceeds as the shell matures , being only a shallow indentation in juvenile shells ( see fig . 1 , showing sinus development with maturity in vexitomina coxi ) . some species have a callous nodule at the top of the inner lip of the aperture , opposite the sinus , which also increases in size with maturity .
wells , f . e . 1991 . a revision of the recent australian species of the turrid genera clavus , plagiostropha and tylotiella ( mollusca : gastropoda ) . journal of the malacological society of australia 12 : 1 - 33
wells , f . e . 1991 . a new species of splendrillia , with comments on two other species in the genus . journal of the malacological society of australia 12 : 63 - 67 .
wells , f . e . 1994 . a revision of the recent australian species of the turrid genera inquisitor and ptychobela . molluscan research 14 : 71 - 103 .
of the 150 or so nsw species only those which reach over 15 mm in length are described here . for information on the remaining species , see laseron ' s treatment mentioned above .
greenville , del . , etc . , delaware museum of natural history , etc .
biodivlibrary july is # nationalblueberrymonth ! the w . a . cox nursery co . of mississippi ' s 1920s catalog proclaimed # blueberries to… urltoken
biodivlibrary @ jzed _ trees @ kew _ laa awesome ! we ' re so honored to have this treasure in # bhlib . thanks @ kew _ laa ! now we can enjoy p… urltoken
turgeon , d . d . , j . f . quinn , jr . , a . e . bogan , e . v . coan , f . g . hochberg , w . g . lyons , et al .
common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the united states and canada : mollusks , 2nd ed .
disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
confused by a class within a class or an order within an order ? please see our brief essay .
to cite this page : myers , p . , r . espinosa , c . s . parr , t . jones , g . s . hammond , and t . a . dewey . 2018 . the animal diversity web ( online ) . accessed at https : / / animaldiversity . org .
disclaimer : the animal diversity web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . adw doesn ' t cover all species in the world , nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe . though we edit our accounts for accuracy , we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts . while adw staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable , we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control .
this material is based upon work supported by the national science foundation grants drl 0089283 , drl 0628151 , due 0633095 , drl 0918590 , and due 1122742 . additional support has come from the marisla foundation , um college of literature , science , and the arts , museum of zoology , and information and technology services .
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it ' s very useful in pharmacology and i survey the distribution of turrids along the indian coast . can anyone advise of identification of this species ? i ' ve identified some of the species and i request to verify the identification in the morphological level with malacologist .
without an image of the shell it is impossible to identify it . there are hundreds of turrid species , now recognized in multiple families .
ok if you want the image of the turrids species i will send you through your mail id but i like to want clear identification of turrids species . because its difficult to identify the species
species - level identifications of species - rich groups are liable to be misidentified by all except the specialist for that group . and of course many of these groups do not have any specialists . sorry to sound negative but it is important to be realistic to what level one can identify a species . it is important not to try to put a species name on every morphotype that you delimit - because this will result in misidentifications in all but the most common and well known species . in my opinion it is important to sort your putative ' species ' into the smallest morphologically consistent groupings that you can ( these are most likley to correspond to ' true ' species and then seek specialist help ) .
an expert in the anatomy and identification of turrids is yuri kantor kantor @ urltoken . in the identification - although basing mainly in shell characters - you can also contact bilal ozturk . you can contact him through researchgate . hope it helps .
elaiya , i don ' t know of anyone currently working with the expertise you need . as others have pointed out the group is so large that just gather the literature you ' ll need will be a major problem , but the internet will help - start there . i would advise you to take high quality digital pictures of your specimens and post them on some of the facebook groups that deal with marine mollusks . there are some very educated people there and someone may be able to help you . good luck .
it is found in presumablly upper eocen - lower oligocene clay sediments in sw bulgaria . given the size of the fossil and the facies feature of the . . .
hi all , i am looking for help in identifying a gastropod from an archaeological site in the gobi desert in southern mongolia . the site is centred . . .
several poorly known species lack common names due to the lack of familiarity of the non - scientific community with them . however , it can be . . .
our lab has observed this feature on presumed naticid drill holes penetrating shells of saxolucina ( megaxinus ) anodonta ( say ) from the miocene . . .
dear colleagues , in recent days an article was published in the washington post trying to sell the idea that we , humans , should not work towards . . .
in a recent critique of our paper on the third orangutan species , the author of a blog wrote that :
a “species” is not an arbitrary segment of . . .
hi all , these three specimens were also collected from mumbai coast of india . i thought these belongs to the genus agaronia and bufonaria . please . . .
what is the name of this green insect . i noticed on its carapace the presence of another small insect ? it is visible in the three photos . is this . . .
book review : marine gastropoda prosobranchiata . the zoology of iceland , volume iv , part 60 . g . thorson
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backeljau , t . ( 1986 ) . lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van belgië [ list of the recent marine molluscs of belgium ] . koninklijk belgisch instituut voor natuurwetenschappen : brussels , belgium . 106 pp .
the taxonomy of this family has to be reconsiderd . backeljau ( 1986 ) follows nordsieck ( 1968 , 1977 ) and van aartsen et al . ( 1984 )
utilizing double quotes for exact terms can narrow your search results . ex . a common name search of northwestern sedge matches ' northwestern sedge ' and ' northwestern showy sedge ' . typing
northwestern sedge
return only ' northwestern sedge ' .
© 2012 - 2018 . encyclopedia of puget sound is published by the puget sound institute at the uw tacoma center for urban waters .
if you have images for this taxon that you would like to share with nbn atlas , please upload using the upload tools .
shells of the turritellidae are elongate with many whorls , similar in shape to the terebridae . the family consists of about a thousand species , world wide in distribution , but more speciose in temperate seas . they generally live subtidally , down to at least 1500 metres , but a few occur in the lower intertidal . the family is well represented in australia , with about 27 species occurring here .
animals of this family are ciliary deposit feeders with limited crawling ability . they lay upon or are partly buried in the substrate , usually soft muddy - sand , and filter minute particles from the sea water as it is drawn over their gills . the particles are then fed in a mucous string to the mouth . the australian species gazameda gunnii supplements its food during times of low plankton availability by scavenging , and this may occur in other members of the family .
in this family some species are dioecious , meaning they exist as male or female throughout their life , while others are protandric hermaphrodites , meaning that animals start life as males and change to females . sperm may be transferred from male to female in packets , or broadcast into the water by males and captured by females in the inhalant water stream . in some species fertilized eggs are brooded in the mantle cavity of the female , with juveniles either being released into the plankton or released onto the substrate as crawling juveniles . other species attach the egg mass to wood , rocks or other solid substrate , from whence they hatch .
there are 18 species of this family in nsw , varying in size from 6 . 5 to 90 mm in length . they all occur subtidally , some in relatively shallow water down to about 100 m , while others are among the deepest living molluscs in the nsw fauna , occurring down to at least 1500 m . they are do not live intertidally in nsw ; shells are occasionally washed up on beaches , more commonly in the far south of the state . of the 18 species , all except one has an eastern or southern australian distribution . the exception is haustator cingulifer , which occurs in the tropical indo - west pacific and just reaches southwards to sydney . one species , maoricolpus roseus , is introduced from new zealand , and is spreading northwards up the nsw coast .
garrard , t . a . 1972 . a revision of australian recent and tertiary turritellidae ( gastropoda : mollusca ) . journal of the malacological society of australia , 2 ( 3 ) : 267 - 338 .
turritellids are elongate , many whorled shells , similar to the terebrids in general shape but distinguished by not having either an anterior or a posterior canal . the outer lip bears a large sinus , but the lip in the sinus area is very thin and usually broken , even in life . the shape of the sinus is best seen in the growth lines behind the growing edge . there is strong spiral sculpture , but axial sculpture is restricted to growth lines of the shape of the outer lip . there is a smooth protoconch of 1½ - 2 ½ whorls in the nsw species , after which the adult , or teleoconch , whorls begin . the teleoconch whorl on which spiral ribs begin , and the sequence in which they commence , is diagnostic for the species , but has not been used here as it requires close microscopic examination of specimens in good condition . instead , the sculpture of the last few whorls is described .
much use is made in the species descriptions of the terms rib , riblet , and thread . these are imprecise comparative terms to describe sculpture on the surface of the shells ; ribs are larger than riblets which are in turn larger than threads . a keel is a type of rib which is tall and parallel - sided .
the following table arranges the nsw species by maximum shell length , as an aid to identification . note that the abundance and beach washup information is specific to nsw . some species are much more common outside nsw , such as
f + , rare ! ! ! from deep water ! ! ! fresh collected ! we got it wrongly as b . biconica
f + , rare ! trawled off rio de janeiro . has a small drill
f + + , rare ! beautiful specimen that we had dredged 24 years ago ! sold to a floridian collector and later p . williams got the shell !
f + , rare species ! found in 1971 ! from p . williams collection !
f + + , milky white with dark pink - rose areas ! from p . williams collection !
f + + , topotype found by gary mackintosh in 1997 ! ex . coll . p . williams !
f + , rare recently named species ! peggy williams had that as clathodrillia cf . tryoni
f + + , not really sure it this is the rare recently named species ! peggy williams had that as clathodrillia cf . tryoni ! looks different of most of the new species described by p . fallon
f + , rare ! very knobby orange specimen ! from p . williams collection !
f + + , gorgeous shell but i am not convinced if is this species ! it has the same color pattern but this is really a drillidae ! p . williams had that under clavus bilineatus !
f + , superb orange and white shell ! p . williams had that as clavus bilineatus !
f + , beautiful specimen ! from unusual area ! from p . williams collection !
f + , specimen found in 1971 ! from p . williams collection ! not sure about id !
f + + , gorgeous specimen from p . williams collection ! not 100 % sure about id !
f + + , very slender shell ! finely ribbed ! from p . williams collection !
f + + , inflated shell ! uncommon ribbed shell with a dark brown blotch on the last whorl . ex . coll . peggy williams
f + , very rare ! deep water ! beautiful specimen from p . williams collection ! ! w / o
f + , very rare ! deep water ! beautiful specimen from p . williams collection ! we had only 3 specimens before ! w / o
f + , nice nodulose shell ! nicely colored ! from p . willimas ( she had bought from us in 1996 ! ! )
f + , very nice specimen from a hard place to go , ant lagoon off the main island ! w / o - ex . coll . homer rhode
f + + + , gorgeous ! very unusual ! not sure about id ! from p . williams collection !
f + + , gorgeous species ! often confused with c . bilieatus , rare !
f + , gorgeous black - brown knobby specimen from p . williams collection !
f + + , banded species from deep water ! from p . williams collection !
f + + , great specimen ! from peggy williams collection ( labeled as c . fulvus )
f + + , very large specimen from unusual area ! special ! from p . williams collection !
f + , very unusual specimen found by p . williams ! it was labeled as c . bilineatus but it is quite different !
f + , rare species ! banded brown and grey ! from p . williams collection
f , the rarest clionella ! deep water species ! ! from p . williams collection - has damaged lip !
f + + , extremely rare water species ! from p . williams collection !
the photos in our gallery are in most cases just a sample from our stock , except when only one specimen is offered . we try to match the original color but it can vary if your screen is not correctly adjusted ( gamma correction ) .
f + + , elongated nodulose species ! very rare ! id according b . cook
f + , nice specimen dredged off oahu in 1987 - ex . coll . peggy williams
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francisco m . heralde , iii , 1 , * yuri i . kantor , 2 mary anne q . astilla , 3 arturo o . lluisma , 3 rollan geronimo , 3 porfirio m . aliño , 3 maren watkins , 4 patrice showers corneli , 5 baldomero m . olivera , 5 ameurfina d . santos , 1 and gisela p . concepcion 3
4 department of pathology , university of utah , 421 wakara way , suite 3323 , 84108 , u . s . a
5 department of biology , 257 s 1400 e , room 201 , university of utah , salt lake city , utah , 84112 , u . s . a
* current address : department of biochemistry and molecular biology , college of medicine , university of the philippines , manila 1000 , philippines , moc . liamg @ edlarehmf tel / fax : + 632 - 526 - 4197
all four gemmula species showed strikingly different patterns of distribution ; each species was found to be relatively much more abundant at one site but not at the other sites . molecular phylogenetic analysis based on 16s sequences correlated with previously reported 12s sequences and revealed that the four species all belong to a well - supported gemmula clade within the subfamily turrinae ; and that this clade appeared more closely related to the clades xenuroturris , turris and lophiotoma than to the other clades in the subfamily ( i . e . , turridrupa , unedogemmula and polystira ) . morphological analysis of the radula of both g . speciosa and g . sogodensis revealed that the radulae of the two species were similar but differed from the other turrids , lophiotoma acuta and unedogemmula bisaya , by the absence of central teeth , consistent with the separation of the gemmula clade from the lophiotoma and unedogemmula clade .
to identify the polychaete group that is targeted as prey by species of gemmula , analysis of regurgitated food fragments was made ; phylogenetic analysis of an mtcoi gene fragment that was pcr - amplified from the regurgitated tissue of one specimen ( g . diomedea ) indicated close affinity of the prey to the terebellid polychaete amphitritides . specimens of gemmula speciosa , when challenged with the terebellid polychaete loimia sp . , were observed to attack the worm suggesting that gemmula species feed on terebellid polychaetes . lophiotoma acuta were also observed to feed on the same species of terebellid but were usually group - feeding in contrast to the solitary feeding of g . speciosa . unedogemmula bisaya did not feed on the terebellid which also supports the separation of the gemmula and unedogemmula clade .
two lines of proof ( i . e . the molecular phylogenetic analysis and the feeding challenge ) supporting the toxin homology findings previously reported , provide consistent evidence that gemmula is a distinct clade of worm - hunting turrinae that feeds on terebellidae .
have been collected in relatively large numbers in philippine waters . in this study , we particularly focused on four deep - water
) . we investigated their distribution and phylogeny , as information on the pattern of their distribution is scant and the phylogeny of these species has not yet been elucidated . in the superfamily conoidae , most previous investigations of molecular phylogeny have been carried out on
) are still poorly understood . so far , only one study has been carried out (
shells of gemmula species . top to bottom , gemmula speciosa , gemmula diomedea , gemmula sogodensis , gemmula kieneri .
to further discriminate the species , we examined and compared the foregut anatomy , i . e . , radula , of three species . because their habitats are inaccessible , little is also known of their feeding biology . although turrids in general are known to feed on polychaetes , there are no available data on which species of polychaetes are preyed on by gemmula ( or any turrid ) species . we therefore collected new data on feeding behavior and potential prey preferences .
snails were purchased from local fishermen as by - catch in trawl nets along the mouth of manila bay ( from bataan to cavite and batangas ) and tangle nets in the seas of cebu and bohol . live snails were kept in seawater until they were processed for anatomical or molecular work . the relative distribution and abundance of gemmula speciosa along the periphery of manila bay was initially assessed by monitoring the collections per trawl of selected boats in august 2005 and from october 2005 to january 2006 . the abundance in all the sampling sites was monitored from the snails collected by the fishermen from february to may 2006 .
the snails were segregated by putative species and preserved for various uses . the snails were cracked and tissue samples ( hepatopancreas and foot ) were obtained and preserved in approximately 10 volumes of rnalater . voucher specimens were kept in 70 % ethanol . dna extraction was performed in fifty mg tissue samples ( hepatopancreas or foot ) using the puregene dna kit ( invitrogen ) or the dneasy tissue kit ( qiagen ) and aliquots were prepared . .
the 16s mitochondrial rrna gene was amplified using the primers 16sl ( 5′ - gtttaccaaaaacatggcttc - 3′ ) and 16sh ( 5′ - ccggtctgaactcagatc acgt - 3′ ) with uracil adaptor sequences . a pcr mix containing 20–40 ng genomic dna , 2μm of each primer , 2μm of dntp and 2μm of taq polymerase was prepared and cycled with the following profile : 95°c 1 min initial denaturation ; 40 cycles of 95°c 20 sec denaturation , 55°c 20 sec annealing and 72°c 30 sec extension ; and 72°c 5 min final extension . the pcr product was ligated to pneb206a ( user friendly cloning , new england biolabs ) and introduced into e . coli ( dh5a ) through chemical transformation . plasmids from transformants with inserts were sequenced through the abi 377 dna sequencer or submitted to the university of utah sequencing facility .
) . a minimum evolution - based phylogenetic reconstruction was made using mega 3 . 1 (
) . bootstrap values were calculated and putative clades were marked accordingly . the genetic distances were computed using the kimura - 2 - parameter model to determine the range of distances of the specimens that belong to a food type cluster .
note : the gu series of accession numbers are sequences obtained in this paper .
a second phylogenetic analysis was made using the combined 12s rdna and 16s rdna ( 12s previously reported in heralde et al . 2007 ) sequences . the concatenated sequences were aligned using clustal x . the alignments were refined manually using macclade 4 . 08 . the process was repeated for some highly variable regions as long as further refinement by eye seemed possible .
trees were optimized using the individual rrna gene sequence alignments and the concatenated alignments ( presented herein ) . final analyses were restricted to model - based maximum likelihood ( paup4b10 ) and bayesian inference ( mrbayes 3 . 1 . 2 ) to account for the complexity of sequence evolution . sequence evolution parameters were optimized by a gtr + i + g model that includes six possible substitution types ( gtr ) , allows some sites to be invariant ( i ) , allows across - site rate heterogeneity ( g ) and allows unequal base frequencies .
the maximum likelihood optimization used tbr branch swapping with 10 searches , each using a random addition of taxa . the analysis ended when the paup default criteria for convergence of the log - likelihood were met .
the bayesian analysis was run for two million generations with the first 500 , 000 generations discarded as burn - in trees . two mcmcmc runs ( metropolis - coupled markov - chain monte - carlo ) , using four chains each , were used to thoroughly explore tree space . convergence of the likelihoods was judged adequate by monitoring the ased ( average standard error of the difference ) in split frequencies between the two runs and by comparing plots of the tree log - likelihood trees from generation 500 , 000 to 2 million . by the last generation , average standard error was 0 . 0039 ; the plot of likelihoods versus generation had stabilized . furthermore , the psrf ( potential scale reduction factor ) reached 1 . 00 for the total tree length and for each model parameter .
since maximum likelihood and bayesian analyses converged to the same tree , only the bayesian results are presented below ( ml results are available from psc ) .
species in the phylogenetic analysis included the following : turrinae : gemmula speciosa , gemmula diomedea , gemmula . kieneri , gemmula sogodensis , lophiotoma albina , lophiotoma acuta , lophiotoma cerithiformis , lophiotoma olangoensis , lophiotoma cingulifera , lophiotoma kingae , lophiotoma jickelli , lophiotoma polytropa , turris gamonsii , turris babylonia , turris spectabilis , turris normandavidsoni , turris grandis , turridrupa elongata , turridrupa bijubata , unedogemmula bisaya , unedogemmula leucotropis , unedogemmula tayabasensis , unedogemmula indica , unedogemmula panglaoensis , polystira oxytropis , polystira picta ; and terebridae : hastula hectica and terebra guttata , .
live snails were relaxed in 1 % cold magnesium chloride ( mgcl 2 ) for 2–3 hours and preserved in 95 % ethanol ; the sem of their radulae was carried out as described previously ( imperial et al . 2007 ) .
six samples of gemmula diomedea caught by trawling at depths of 231–271 meters in the panglao 2005 expedition were relaxed in cold 1 % magnesium chloride for at least 2 hours and regurgitated tissues were recovered . genomic dna was extracted from the tissues using the dneasy tissue kit ( qiagen ) . an aliquot was prepared as template for mtcoi amplification using modified universal primers with user adaptor sequences ( simison 2000 ) . subsequent cloning into pneb206a , transformant screening and plasmid sequencing were as described above . the mtcoi sequence obtained was searched in the genbank database using blast ( basic local alignment search tool ) .
the snails used for the feeding experiments were maintained indoor using a 56 - liter aquarium containing seawater with salinity maintained at a range between 35–37 ppt . a filtration system and an aerator were in place while the feeding behavior of g . speciosa and other turrids was observed . the snails used in the experiment had been in the tanks for a period of 2–4 weeks with artificial lighting following a 12 hour light - dark cycle . the introduction of live terebellid worms into the tank was done at night .
were obtained from two different biogeographic regions . the first three sites came from manila bay in the south china sea region : site 1 is close to the bataan peninsula , site 2 is off corregidor island and site 3 is off the batangas coast . at these three sites ,
specimens were obtained as by - catch of commercial fish trawlers operating in these areas . the only larger
was only rarely collected at the southern sites within the visayan seas biogeographic region ( off sogod , cebu and off the island of panglao in bohol ) . the primary method for collection at the latter sites was tangle nets mostly laid at greater depths . at the sogod , cebu site , the major
collected per trawl was 20±9 or a mean catch rate of 1 . 3±0 . 6 per trawl - hour . the specimens ranged in length from 2 . 0 to 6 . 7 centimeters ( mean : 4 . 0±1 . 1 cm . ) and collected at night . it must be noted that the fishing gear used effectively captured only those organisms that were either on or close to the surface of the substrate ( unlike dredges that go deeper ) .
clade . this clade is where the food type / preference analysis is focused . the occurrence of
) is also well - supported as indicated by a high bootstrap value ( 82 % ) .
clades which have similar food type / preference ( i . e . , among worm - hunting cone species ) (
) . we selected three clades of worm - hunting coniids ( i . e . s1 – sedentary polychaete feeders , mainly terebellidae , s2 – sedentary polychaete feeders , mainly capitellidae and e6 – errant polychaete feeders , mainly eunicidae ) based on the clade grouping of
) . the largest distance range occurs among terebellidae feeders ( i . e . , the s1 clade ) , thus in
comparison of genetic distance between 16s rrna gene sequences of gemmula species and selected vermivorous cone clades . clade s1 , sedentary polychaete feeders , mainly terebellidae ; clade s2 , sedentary polychaete feeders , mainly capitellidae ; and clade e6 , errant polychaete feeders , mainly eunicidae .
) with each other and with other forms in the subfamily turrinae was further inferred from the 12s and 16s mitochondrial rrna gene sequences . both bayesian and maximum likelihood methods , as described under experimental procedures , were used . the phylogenetic tree , shown in
clade ) , separate from other groups in the subfamily turrinae that were included in the analysis . furthermore , the analysis suggests that the sister group of the
) form a major monophyletic group within the turrinae , which is strongly supported by the analysis .
and their relatives based on bayesian inference . ( an identical tree was returned by a full maximum likelihood analysis of the sequence data . ) branches are labeled with bayesian confidence values expressed as percentages . for clarity , some of the outgroup species used in the analysis have been pruned from this figure ( see methods for the full list ) . shown are various forms in the subfamily turrinae , including the four species that are the subject of this article ( shells of these species are shown in
) . the seven clades identified by roman numerals all have 100 % support based on both bayesian and maximum likelihood analysis and have the following generic / subgeneric assignments within the subfamily turrinae : i .
there were significant morphological variations in the shells of g . speciosa specimens collected ( i . e . , gemmule shape , inter - gemmule distance , length and diameter ratio , etc ) . however , when molecular analysis was done to evaluate the specimens with different shell morphotypes , no significant differences could be detected in the rrna gene sequences of the morphological variants . thus , the shell morphological variation does not appear to be correlated with any significant genetic ( 12s and 16s rrna gene ) divergence .
) the radula had type 2 wishbone teeth that were robust , short and curved , sometimes with a knifelike cutting edge on the main limb and a large accessory limb with a formula of 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 1 ( following powell’s system ) . an analysis of the radular structure of
radular morphology . scanning electron microscopy images of the radula of gemmula speciosa ( a–b ) . gemmula sogodensis ( c–d ) , unedogemmula bisaya ( e–f ) and lophiotoma acuta ( g–h ) . . the central tooth is prominent in both gemmula species and absent in u . bisaya and l . acuta