Vexillum regina (G. B. Sowerby I 1828)

Vexillum regina, common name the queen mitre, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.^[1]

Subspecies

• Vexillum regina filiareginae J. M. Cate, 1961 : synonym of Vexillum filiareginae J. M. Cate, 1961: synonym of Vexillum coloscopulus J. M. Cate, 1961

Description

The queen miter snail (Vexillum regina) is spectacularly colored with white, orange, and dark brown stripes (the species does vary in coloration, however). Vexillum is a predatory snail that secretes toxins to immobilize & kill prey.

The shell is elongately fusiform. The spire is turreted and sharply produced. The whorls are angulated at the upper part, longitudinally ribbed, transversely elevately striated. The shell is alternately zoned with orange-red and blueish white, edged with black. The columella is four-plaited. ^[2]

Distribution

It is a tropical marine gastropod from the Indo-Western Pacific Basin: Madagascar, Mozambique, the Philippines; also in the Coral Sea.

References

• Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
• Herrmann, M. and E. Guillot de Suduiraut. 2009. Two new species of Vexillum from the Philippines and Malaysia with remarks on Vexillum plicarium (Linnaeus, 1758), its synonyms and the identity of Vexillum citrinum (Gmelin, 1791)(Gastropoda: Costellariidae). Conchylia 40(3-4): 26-33