Vexillum turben, common name the spinning-top mitre, is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.
Description The length of the shell attains 22.7 mm, its diameter 12 mm.
(Original description) The shell is oblong-ovate, attenuated at the base. The spire is obtusely rounded. The sutures are rather deep. The shell is longitudinally very closely plicately fine-ribbed. The ribs and interstices are transversely impressely striated. The shell is orange-yellow. The columella is five-plaited with the plaits prominent. The aperture is striated within.Reeve, L. A. (1844-1845). Monograph of the genus Mitra. In: Conchologia Iconica, or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 2, pl. 1-39 and unpaginated text. L. Reeve & Co., London.
(Described as Vexillum turben kanak ) The shell is similar to Vexillum turben (Reeve, 1844) (Philippine Islands) in sculpture and the ochraceous-buff or buff-yellow color, but the spire is more shortly and a little concavely conic above, the penultimate whorl is slightly swollen. There are six plaits, the upper one strong and horizontal. Within the outer lip there is a small fold, more prominent than the others about the upper third.Pilsbry, H. A. (1921). Marine mollusks of Hawaii, VIII-XIII. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 72: 296-328, pl. 12
Distribution This marine species occurs in the Indo-west and central Pacific, off Mozambique, the Philippines and Hawaii.
References
Dautzenberg, P. & Bouge, L.J. 1923. Mitridés de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et de ses dépendances. Journal de Conchyliologie 67(1): 83-159 Cernohorsky, W.O. 1970. Systematics of the families Mitridae & Volutomitridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Auckland, New Zealand 8: 1-190 Cernohorsky, W.O. 1978. Tropical Pacific marine shells. Sydney : Pacific Publications 352 pp., 68 pls. Wilson, B. 1994. Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp. Arnaud, J.P., Berthault, C., Jeanpierre, R., Martin, J.C. & Martin, P. 2002. Costellariidae et Mitridae de Nouvelle Calédonie. Xenophora. Association française de conchyliologie. Supplément 100: 52 pp.
External links Liénard, Élizé. Catalogue de la faune malacologique de l'île Maurice et de ses dépendances comprenant les îles Seychelles, le groupe de Chagos composé de Diego-Garcia, Six-îles, Pèros-Banhos, Salomon, etc., l'île Rodrigues, l'île de Cargados ou Saint-Brandon. J. Tremblay, 1877. WMSDB: image