Tonna tankervillii

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Tonna tankervillii
Tonna tankervillii found on northern New Zealand beach.
Tonna tankervillii found on northern New Zealand beach.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Neotaenioglossa
Family: Tonnidae
Genus: Tonna
Species: T. tankervillii
Binomial name
Tonna tankervillii
(Hanley, 1860)
Synonyms

Tonna cerevisina Hedley, 1919

Tonna tankervillii is a very large species of sea snail or tun snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tonnidae, the tun shells.

[edit] Distribution

This species is found in Australia, from Torres Strait in the north, down the east coast, and also on the north east coast of New Zealand.

[edit] Shell description

This globose shell is very large and thin, sculptured with broad flattened spiral corrugations, separated by narrow unsculptured grooves. The coloration is variable, pale cream or pinkish-buff to bright orange-brown, variously maculated in reddish-brown to purplish-brown, usually concentrated towards the upper suture, but often sparsely scattered over the body whorl as well. In live specimens the whole shell is covered by a thin yellowish periostracum.

The shell height is up to 23 cm, and width 19 cm.

[edit] References