18 — Deep-sea turrid, Kuroshioturris angustata

Kuroshioturris angustata (Powell, 1940).
Off northern New Zealand, location unknown.

This small shell is called Kuroshioturris angustata (Powell, 1940) and is in the family Turridae. It's about 15 mm long, and is endemic to New Zealand. This species is found in relatively deep-water from about 40–550 m and as far south as Chatham Rise.

For some reason no one has yet to adequately explain, there seem to be hundreds of species of turrids in the deep-seas of the world. Turrids are thought to feed on polychaete worms, but very few species have actually been studied.

These ones look slightly chalky due to their shells slowly dissolving. This happens because of the water pressure at depth makes the calcium carbonate become more soluble. Many deep-sea snails secrete a covering called a periostracum and this helps to protect the shell from the corrosive effects of deep waters.


More info:

More pictures: http://www.mollusca.co.nz/speciesdetail.php?speciesid=1387&species=Kuroshioturris%20angustata

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967064509001817