Bullia tranquebarica
Bullia tranquebarica, common name the lined bullia, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.
(REF: Bullia belangeri Kiener, 1834. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species)
The narrow shell is elongated and subturreted. It is a bright, transparent ash color, covered with longitudinal waved and reddish lines. The elongated spire is composed of seven or eight slightly convex whorls. They are marked at their upper part by a marginated suture, and two slightly apparent striae towards the base. The body whorl is shorter than the spire, marked at its base with regular, transverse striae or ridges. The oval aperture is oblong, smooth and white. The outer lip is thin and sharp, slightly plaited internally. The columella, slightly arcuated, is terminated by a pretty prominent oblique fold. The shell grows on average to a length of 1 1/3 inches.
(REF: Kiener (1840). General species and iconography of recent shells : comprising the Massena Museum, the collection of Lamarck, the collection of the Museum of Natural History, and the recent discoveries of travellers; Boston :W.D. Ticknor,1837)
Bullia tranquebarica dwells in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar. Bullia are shiny, smooth surf shells. All species are blind and scavenge for food in sandy seas. This tall spired shell is a gastropod with a thick callus above the aperture with a thin corneous operculum.
(REF: "Bullia (Bullia) tranquebarica". Gastropods.com.)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: GastropodaSubclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Nassariidae
Genus: Bullia
Species: B. tranquebarica
Binomial name: Bullia tranquebarica
(REF: Röding, 1798 Bullia (Bullia) tranquebarica)
Q1-8
A Bullia Tranquebarica/Belangeri shell can measure up to 1 1/2 inches in size....... .04