Tegula tridentata

Tegula tridentata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tegulidae.^[1]

Tegula tridentata
Ten shells of Tegula tridentata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Trochida
Superfamily:	Trochoidea
Family:	Tegulidae
Genus:	Tegula
Species:	T. tridentata
Binomial name
Tegula tridentata (Potiez & Michaud, 1838)
Synonyms
Chlorostoma tridentata (Potiez & Michaud, 1838) Monodonta tridentata Potiez & Michaud, 1838 (original combination) Trochus microstomus d'Orbigny, 1841 Trochus stenomphalus Jonas, 1844 Trochus tridens Mke. in Philippi Trochus tridentatus Philippi

Description

The height of the shell varies between 19 mm and 22 mm, its diameter between 15 mm and 18 mm. The heavy and solid, elevated shell is minutely perforate and has a conoidal shape. Its color is black or purplish. The 5 to 6 whorls are slightly convex. They are smooth, the last one has a rounded periphery. The base of the shell is somewhat flattened, deeply eroded in front of the aperture. The small aperture is oblique. The outer lip is thick and lirate within. The short columella is oblique and distinctly tridentate at the base. The minute umbilicus is circular.^[2]

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the Pacific Ocean from Peru to Chile.