Phrontis (gastropod)

Phrontis is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Nassariinae of the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.^[1]

Phrontis
Apertural view of a shell of Phrontis pagoda (museum specimen at Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Buccinoidea
Family:	Nassariidae
Genus:	Phrontis H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853
Type species
Buccinum tiarula Kiener, 1841
Species
See text
Synonyms[1]
Alectrion (Phrontis) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 Alectryon (Phrontis) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 Nassa (Phrontis) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853 Nassarius (Phrontis) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1853

Description

The spire is elevated and acuminate. The whorls are ribbed or nodulose. The inner lip is smooth and has an extended, thickened callus.^[2]

Species

Species within the genus Phrontis include:

• Phrontis alba (Say, 1826)
• Phrontis antillara (d'Orbigny, 1847)
• Phrontis candidissima (C. B. Adams, 1845)
• Phrontis complanata (Powys, 1835)
• Phrontis hotessieriana (d'Orbigny, 1842)
• Phrontis karinae (Nowell-Usticke, 1971)
• Phrontis luteostoma (Broderip & G. B. Sowerby I, 1829)
• Phrontis nassiformis (Lesson, 1842)
• Phrontis pagoda (Reeve, 1844)
• Phrontis polygonata (Lamarck, 1822)
• Phrontis tiarula (Kiener, 1841)
• Phrontis versicolor (C. B. Adams, 1852)
• Phrontis vibex (Say, 1822)

Species brought into synonymy

• Phrontis compacta (Angas, 1865): synonym of Reticunassa compacta (Angas, 1865)
• Phrontis crassus (Philippi, 1849): synonym of Nassarius semisulcatus (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1848)
• Phrontis nodicostata (A. Adams, 1852): synonym of Nassarius nodicostatus (A. Adams, 1852)
• Phrontis obockensis Jousseaume, 1888: synonym of Nassarius deshayesianus (Issel, 1866)