Gemmula


Gemmula, common name the gem turrids, is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Turridae, the turrids.
These snails have been recorded as fossils from the Paleocene to the Quaternary. Fossils have been found all over the world.
They are venomous with disulfide-rich polypeptides in their venom ducts.
These bioactive peptides are likely to become a resource for novel pharmacologically active compounds

Habitat and feeding habits

The snails in this genus occur mostly in deeper tropical waters at depths between 50 and 500m. Because of these deep habitats, little is known about their feeding habits.

Taxonomy

The Gemmula clade is more closely related to the clades Xenuroturris, Turris and Lophiotoma than to the other clades in the subfamily Turrinae.

Description

The shell resemblies Drillia, but with a thin and simple outer lip without an anterior sulcus, and the inner lip usually simple, hardly callous. The sculpture is most emphasized in a spiral direction, often with a prominent beaded keel at or in front of the anal fasciole. Type species : Pleurotoma gemmata Hinds, 1843
As expected from venomous species, these species have a toxoglosson radula with a central tooth that characterizes this genus.

Species

The genus Gemmula is the largest genus in the subfamily Turrinae. Species within the genus Gemmula include: