Melanella dufresnii is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Eulimidae.
Description (Original description) The shell of this marine species is semi-transparent and turreted, with a curved spire. The aperture is encroached upon by the body whorl. The color of the shell is white. Bowdich, T.E. (1822). Elements of conchology, including the fossil genera and the animals. Part I. Univalves. 79 pp., 19 pls. Paris
Because of the uncertainty of its true identity, the name Melanella dufresnii has been very little used, except as the name of the type species. It is the oldest available name for Eulima arcuata G.B. Sowerby, 1865 (non E. arcuata C. B. Adams, 1849, a Caribbean species of Melanella).
The species has been known, especially in Hawaii, as Eulima (or Balcis) thaanumi Pilsbry, 1917.
The taxonomy of the larger species of Melanella is very confused, and museum collections abound with misidentifications.
Distribution This abyssal marine species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific and off Australia (Queensland)
References
Severns, M. (2011). Shells of the Hawaiian Islands - The Sea Shells. Conchbooks, Hackenheim. 564 pp. Wilson, B. 1993. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp.
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