Vexillum speciosum
species of mollusc
Vexillum speciosum, common name : the specious mitre, is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.
Description
The shell size varies between 15 mm and 22 mm.
(Original description) The shell is stoutly ovate, attenuated at both ends. It is transversely impressly striated and longitudinally ribbed, the ribs rather flat, granulated towards the base. The shel lis pinkish white, ribs stained with a very broad brown or purple-brown band, the apex pink. The columella is four-plaited, uppermost plate much the largest.
This shell, at first glance, has very much the appearance of Vexillum pulchellum, but upon closer examination it will be observed that the dark band which encircles the one is painted on the ribs only, whilst in the other it appears in the interstices only.
Distribution
This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Mozambique, Réunion, Mauritius, Chagos and the Mascarene basin; also off the Philippines, Hawaii, Tuamotu Archipelago and Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia).
References
Cernohorsky, W.O. 1970. Systematics of the families Mitridae & Volutomitridae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).
The public source identifies “Vexillum speciosum” as species of mollusc. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Vexillum, speciosum and species.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7924172. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1970.
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This entry incorporates text from “Vexillum speciosum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.