Aesopus is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails.
Description (Original description in Latin) The animal is white with a sole that is emarginate anteriorly and obtuse posteriorly, featuring a flabelliform horny cover. It has a small head with external medial eyes and a wide, very short siphon.
The shell is fusiform and humpbacked, with a widely truncated anterior. The lunate aperture has its posterior corner filled with callus. The columella is simple and vitreous, while the suture near the aperture is abnormally arched.
The backward angle and downward curvature of the body whorl are quite peculiar. The form and appearance of the shell, along with the structure of the animal, suggest that it occupies an intermediate position between the genera Mitra and Columbella.Gould, A. A. (1860). Descriptions of new shells collected by the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. 7: 323-336
Species Species within the genus Aesopus include:
Aesopus algoensis (G.B. Sowerby III, 1892) Aesopus aliciae Marincovich, 1973 Aesopus australis (Angas, 1877) Aesopus benitoensis de Maintenon, 2019 Aesopus cassandra (Hedley, 1904) Aesopus chrysalloideus (Carpenter, 1866) Aesopus clausiliformis (Kiener, 1834) Aesopus cumingii (Reeve, 1859) † Aesopus eniwetokensis (Ladd, 1977) Aesopus eurytoides (Carpenter, 1864) Aesopus foucheae Lussi, 2017 Aesopus fredbakeri Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932 Aesopus fuscostrigatus (Carpenter, 1864) Aesopus geraldsmithi Lussi M., 2001 Aesopus goforthi Dall, 1912 (taxon inquirendum) Aesopus gracilis Faber, 2004 Aesopus guyanensis Pelorce, 2017 Aesopus jaffaensis (Verco, 1910) Aesopus japonicus Gould, 1860 Aesopus meta (Thiele, 1925) Aesopus multistriatus (Preston, 1905) Aesopus myrmecoon Dall, 1916 Aesopus obesus (Hinds, 1844) Aesopus pallidulus (Hedley, 1906) Aesopus plurisulcatus Reeve, 1859 Aesopus rotundus Drivas & Jay, 1990 Aesopus sanctus Dall, 1919 Aesopus solidus (May, 1911) Aesopus stearnsii (Tryon, 1883) Aesopus urania Melvill & Standen, 1901 Aesopus veneris (Thiele, 1925)
Species brought into synonymy Aesopus angustus (G.B. Sowerby III, 1886): synonym of Clathranachis angusta (G.B. Sowerby III, 1886) Aesopus arestus Dall, 1919: synonym of Ithiaesopus arestus (Dall, 1919) (original combination) † Aesopus crebricostatus Tenison Woods, 1879: synonym of Anachis (Turricolumbus) crebricostata (Tenison Woods, 1879) represented as † Anachis crebricostata (Tenison Woods, 1879) Aesopus eurytoideus (Carpenter, 1864): synonym of Aesopus eurytoides (Carpenter, 1864) Aesopus filosus Angas, 1867: synonym of Aesopus plurisulcatus Reeve, 1859 Aesopus hilium Hedley, 1908: synonym of Austropusilla hilum (Hedley, 1908) (superseded combination) † Aesopus idae Bartsch, 1918: synonym of Aesopus chrysalloideus (P. P. Carpenter, 1864) Aesopus metcalfei (Reeve, 1858): synonym of Aesopus obesus (Hinds, 1844) Aesopus metella (Thiele, 1925): synonym of Decipifus metellus (Thiele, 1925) Aesopus osborni Hertlein & Strong, 1951: synonym of Exaesopus osborni (Hertlein & A. M. Strong, 1951) (original combination) † Aesopus semicostatus Tenison Woods, 1879: synonym of † Retizafra semicostata (Tenison Woods, 1879) Aesopus spiculus (Duclos in Chenu, 1846): synonym of Aesopus clausiliformis (Kiener, 1834) Aesopus subturritus (Carpenter, 1866): synonym of Exaesopus subturritus (P. P. Carpenter, 1864) Aesopus xenicus Pilsbry & Lowe, 1932: synonym of Glyptaesopus xenicus (Pilsbry & H. N. Lowe, 1932) (original combination)
References
Gould, A.A. 1860. Descriptions of new shells collected by the North Pacific Exploring Expedition. Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 7: 382-384 Wilson, B. 1994. Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. Higo, S., Callomon, P. & Goto, Y. 1999. Catalogue and Bibliography of the Marine Shell-bearing Mollusca of Japan. Japan : Elle Scientific Publications 749 pp. Ramirez, R.; Paredes, C.; Arenas, J. (2003). Moluscos del Perú. Revista de Biología Tropical. 51(supplement 3): 225-284. [d
External links Iredale, T. (1929). Queensland molluscan notes, No. 1. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 9(3): 261-297, pls 30-31