Relevant Synonyms Nassarius obvelatus Deshayes in Laborde, 1844 Misidentification -  photo: S. Gofas

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell with rather conical spire and globose body whorl. Sculpture of axial folds and of smaller spiral threads; axial folds terminating into a subsutural series of knobs more conspicuous on the body whorl. Aperture oval, with a broad, flat callus (absent or reduced in juveniles) covering the body whorl on the columellar edge, and a moderately thickened outer lip with fine denticulations inside. Siphonal canal very short, deeply incised, and opposite to it a well-marked anal canal delimited by a parietal tooth. color : greenish, with vague darker spiral zones, aperture and callus white. common size : 20 mm in the Indian Ocean, 15 mm for the Mediterranean specimens. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The Indian Ocean subspecies is distinguished from N. arcularia arcularia (Linnaeus, 1758) by stronger spirals and more numerous axial folds on the spire. The native Nassarids which have a comparable callus are distinguished by having a smooth spire. The recognition of juveniles, which do not have the callus formed, is more problematic as they may resemble the native Nassarius nitidus (Jeffreys, 1865) or Nassarius louisi (Pallary, 1904) and there a careful comparison of specimens is needed; in any case, any new record should be ascertained by at least one adult specimen. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Unknown. All Nassarids are scavengers feeding on carrion or detritus. habitat : Indo-Pacific habitat in sand, from the intertidal to 24 m (Cernohorsky, 1984).

1st Mediterranean record Haifa, Israel, 1977 [1968]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. The nominal subspecies N. arcularia arcularia (Linnaeus, 1758) is found in the Indian Ocean east of Ceylon and throughout the tropical Western Pacific. Mediterranean: only known from one shell from Haifa collected in 1968 and three shells from Bardawil, Egypt, collected in 1974 (Barash and Danin, 1977a). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare, only documented by the two above records. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Possibly via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Barash A. and Danin Z., 1977a. Additions to the knowledge of Indo-Pacific Mollusca in the Mediterranean. Conchiglie, 13(5-6): 85-116. Cernohorsky W.O., 1984. Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. i-iv, 1-356 [N. arcularia pp. 56-58, pl. 1].   FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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