Neoterebra sterigma

Neoterebra sterigma is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Terebridae, the auger snails.^[1]

Neoterebra sterigma
Shell of Neoterebra sterigma (holotype at MNHN, Paris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Terebridae
Genus:	Neoterebra
Species:	N. sterigma
Binomial name
Neoterebra sterigma (Simone, 1999)
Synonyms[1]
Terebra sterigma Simone, 1999 (original combination)

Neoterebra sterigma is a typical species of deep-sea benthic snails in the western Atlantic Ocean. Its distinguishing features are fine shell carvings and wide apex angles, which are significantly different from shallow-sea species of the same genus (such as N. guadeloupensis).^[2]

Classification

Neoterebra sterigma (Simone, 1999) belongs to the superfamily Conoidea, family Terebridae, and genus Neoterebra. It is currently only recorded in the Brazilian waters of the western Atlantic Ocean, with a habitat depth of 340-360 meters. It is a typical deep-sea aquatic species.^[2]

Morphological Characteristics

Shell type

Small snail, shell length 16.4-24.2 mm (including paratype), with a wide and fat outline, convex whorls, and a wide apex angle (compared with the closely related species N. pruvosti).^[2]

Shell surface carving

Axial ribs and spiral carvings: Axial ribs are fine and closely spaced (about 3 times the rib width), and the spiral carvings are dense and deep, cutting the top of the axial ribs to form a grid-like structure (different from the wide spacing and coarse carvings of N. pruvosti).^[2]

Suture zone: With white sub-suture zone, deep indentations on the edge, and rectangular pits formed by the axial ribs inside the zone.^[2]

Color: The shell color of living organisms is light yellow to pinkish white, and the sub-suture zone is white (the type specimen may fade to pure white because it was collected as a dead shell).^[2]

Protoshell: 1.5-2.0 whorls, spherical core, and unclear transition from the body.^[2]

Description

The length of the shell attains 11.9 mm.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off Southeast Brazil.