Vexillum caffrum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.MolluscaBase (2018). Vexillum caffrum (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=591539 on 2018-12-31
Description The length of the shell varies between 35 mm and 51 mm.
The fusiform shell has a high spire and an adpressed suture. It shows many axial riblets, becoming obsolete on the middle of the body whorl. The outer lip is lirate, a little concave and inverted. The interior of the lip edge is dark brown. The columella has four plaits. The short siphonal canal is open and a little recurved.
The shell is dark chocolate brown, with two or three yellow spiral zones, the upper one visible on the spire.Tryon (1882), Manual of Conchology IV
Distribution The species is found in the Tropîcal Pacific Ocean from Indonesia to Polynesia, and off Australia (Queensland).
References
Swainson, W. 1822. A Catalogue of the Rare and Valuable Shells, which formed the Celebrated Collection of the late Mrs Bligh. With an appendix, containing descriptions of many new species. London : Publisher unknown 78 pp. Cotton, B.C. 1957. Family Mitridae. Royal Society of South Australia Malacological Section 12: 8 pp. 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 Hinton, A. 1972. Shells of New Guinea and the central Indo-Pacific. Milton : Jacaranda Press xviii 94 pp. Wilson, B. (1994) Australian marine shells. Prosobranch gastropods. Vol. 2 Neogastropods. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia, 370 pp.
External links Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata (10th revised edition), vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. Quoy, J. R. C. & Gaimard, J. P. (1832-1835). Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe : exécuté par ordre du roi, pendant les années 1826-1827-1828-1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Zoologie. 1 Cernohorsky, Walter Oliver. The Mitridae of Fiji; The veliger vol. 8 (1965)