Architectonica maxima

{{Speciesbox

| image = Architectonicidae - Architectonica maxima.JPG

| image_caption = Shell of Architectonica maxima from Japan at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano

| taxon = Architectonica maxima

| authority = (Philippi, 1849)

| synonyms =

Solarium maximum Philippi, 1849{{WoRMS |title=Architectonica maxima (R. A. Philippi, 1849) |db=MolluscaBase |id=585869 }}

}}

Architectonica maxima, the giant sundial, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Architectonicidae, which are known as the staircase shells or sundials.

File:Architectonica maxima 01.JPG

Description

Architectonica maxima has a shell that reaches 19–82 mm{{Gastropods.com|key=4|id=4|title=Architectonica (Maxima-group) maxima|access-date=12 January 2019}} and it is the largest member of the sundial family. This shell is low-spired and quite flattened, with a beaded surface. The shoulder slope is divided into two ribs by a spiral groove. The basic color is cream, with brown spots.

Distribution

This species can be found in the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Persian Gulf to western Pacific, Japan, eastern Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Hawaii.[http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Architectonica+maxima&mobile=close&flags=glean: Discover Life][https://archive.today/20130219194006/http://www.sealifebase.fisheries.ubc.ca/summary/speciessummary.php?id=87077 Sealifebase]

Habitat

Giant sundial is a carnivore deeper water sea snail living on sandy patches and muddy sublittoral bottoms, close to soft corals, at a depth of 10 – 280 m.

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite book |last=Poutiers |first=J. M. |title=The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 1. Seaweeds, corals, bivalves and gastropods |editor=Carpenter, K. E. |editor2=Niem, V. H. |publisher=FAO |location=Rome |date=1998 |series=FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes |volume=1 |pages=637–638 |chapter=Gastropods |isbn=92-5-104052-4 |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/bc6ef027-119d-457e-9770-5b8c068d62c6/content }}

}}

Category:Architectonicidae

Category:Molluscs of the Indian Ocean

Category:Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean

Category:Gastropods described in 1849

Category:Taxa named by Rodolfo Amando Philippi