Pelicaria vermis

{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Struthiolaria vermis vermis (small ostrich foot).JPG

| image_caption = Dorsal view of a shell of Pelicaria vermis

| status =

| taxon= Pelicaria vermis

| authority = (Martyn, 1784)

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms =

  • Buccinum vermis Martyn, 1784 (basionym)
  • Murex australis Gmelin, 1791
  • Pelicaria mangaoparia Vella, 1953
  • Pelicaria rotunda Vella, 1953
  • Struthiolaria acuminata Marwick, 1924
  • Struthiolaria convexa Marwick, 1924
  • Struthiolaria crenulata Lamarck, 1822
  • Struthiolaria fossa Marwick, 1924
  • Struthiolaria inermis G.B. Sowerby I, 1821
  • Struthiolaria media Marwick, 1924
  • Struthiolaria tricarinata Lesson, 1841
  • Struthiolaria vermis (Martyn, 1784)
  • Struthiolaria vermis bradleyi Neef, 1970
  • Struthiolaria vermis flemingi Neef, 1970
  • Struthiolaria vermis grahami Neef, 1970
  • Struthiolaria vermis powelli Neef, 1970
  • Struthiolaria vermis vellai Neef, 1970
  • Struthiolaria vermis wellmani Neef, 1970

}}

Pelicaria vermis, known as the small ostrich foot shell or takai in Māori, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Struthiolariidae.Bouchet, P. (2011). Pelicaria vermis (Martyn, 1784). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=564560 on 2011-03-11 It is the only extant species in the genus.

Distribution & Habitat

This species is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand, where it lives just beneath the surface on tidal flats and off sandy beaches, occasionally to depths of 90m.

image:Struthiolaria vermis vermis (small ostrich foot) (base).JPG

Description

The shell height is up to 54 mm, and width up to 35 mm, colouring usually yellow brown, rarely plain yellow or purple.Andrew Crowe, "Simple Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Sea Shells", Penguin 1999 {{ISBN|0140285458}}

References

{{Reflist}}

  • Lamarck, [J.-B. M.] de. (1822). Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Tome septième. Paris: published by the Author, 711 pp
  • Marwick, J. (1924). The Struthiolariidae. Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. 55: 161–190.
  • Vella, P. (1953). The genus Pelicaria in the Tertiary of east Wairarapa. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 81: 35–48.
  • Neef, G. (1970). Notes on the subgenus Pelicaria. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 13: 436–476.
  • Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 {{ISBN|0-00-216906-1}}