Vexillum obeliscus

Vexillum obeliscus, common name the obelisk mitre, is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.^[1]

Vexillum obeliscus
Vexillum obeliscus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Superfamily:	Turbinelloidea
Family:	Costellariidae
Genus:	Vexillum
Species:	V. obeliscus
Binomial name
Vexillum obeliscus (Reeve, 1844)
Synonyms[1]
Costellaria obeliscus (Reeve, 1844) Mitra (Turricula) obeliscus Reeve, 1844 Mitra (Turricula) obeliscus var. andamanica G. Nevill & H. Nevill, 1875 Mitra obeliscus Reeve, 1844 Mitropifex quasillus Iredale, 1929 · Turricula (Costellaria) obeliscus (Reeve, 1844) Vexillum andamanica Nevill, G. & H. Nevill, 1875 Turricula quasillus Iredale, T., 1929

Description

The shell size varies between 20 mm and 45 mm.

(Original description) The shell is acuminately turreted. The spire is sharp. The whorls are longitudinally ribbed. The ribs are narrow and close-set. The interstices are impressly cancellated. The shell is yellowish brown, encircled with a single white line. The columella is four-plaited. The base is recurved in a twisted manner.^[2]

The shell is chestnut-brown, with a central white band, and sometimes an inferior narrower one.^[3]

The shells are extremely variable in sculpture and other morphological features.^[4]

Distribution

This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along the Mascarene Basin and Madagascar; in the Pacific Ocean along New Guinea, New Caledonia, Fiji and the Solomons Islands.