Cancilla praestantissima
Encyclopedia
Cancilla praestantissima, common name : the most superior mitre, is a species
of sea snail
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Mitridae
, the miters or miter snails.
, in the Indian Ocean along Madagascar
, Mauritius
and the Mascarene Basin; in the Pacific Ocean along Polynesia
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Mitridae
Mitridae
Mitridae, known as mitre shells, are a taxonomic family of sea snails, widely distributed marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Neogastropoda....
, the miters or miter snails.
Description
The shell size varies between 20 mm and 61 mmDistribution
This species is distributed in the Red SeaRed Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, in the Indian Ocean along Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and the Mascarene Basin; in the Pacific Ocean along Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...
.