Prothalotia flindersi

Prothalotia flindersi, common name the Flinders top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.^[2]

Prothalotia flindersi
Shell of Prothalotia flindersi (syntype at MNHN, Paris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Trochida
Superfamily:	Trochoidea
Family:	Trochidae
Subfamily:	Cantharidinae
Genus:	Prothalotia
Species:	P. flindersi
Binomial name
Prothalotia flindersi (P. Fischer, 1878)[1]
Synonyms
Cantharidus (Prothalotia) flindersi (Fischer, 1878) Trochus flindersi Fischer, P. 1878

Description

The height of the shell attains 16 mm, its diameter 13 mm. The rather thick, very narrowly perforate shell has a conical shape. It contains 7 to 8 planulate whorls. The first one is eroded, the succeeding are whitish-ashen, radiated with narrow, close and flexuose blackish and violaceous lines. They are spirally cingulate, with 6 lirae on penultimate whorl. The body whorl is subangular, a little depressed above, dilated in the middle. The base of the shell is convex and ornamented with about 8 lirae. The aperture is rhomboidal. The lip is simple. The truncate columella is truncate below.^[3]

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to Australia and occurs off South Australia and Western Australia.