Vexillum caffrum (Linnaeus 1758)

Vexillum caffrum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.^[1]

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. ^[2]

Distribution

Tropîcal Pacific Ocean from Indonesia to Polynesia; 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.