earth science

Nassarius arcularia

Nassarius arcularia is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nassarius arcularia rather than just read about it. In short: Nassarius arcularia, the casket nassa or the little box dog whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks. It is found in tropical and subtropical coastal waters across the world, inhabiting muddy areas close to the shoreline.

Key takeaways

Nassarius arcularia belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nassarius arcularia to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nassarius arcularia from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nassarius arcularia, the casket nassa or the little box dog whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks. It is found in tropical and subtropical coastal waters across the world, inhabiting muddy areas close to the shoreline. There are two subspecies :

Nassarius arcularia arcularia (Linnaeus, 1758): accepted as Nassarius arcularia. Nassarius arcularia plicatus (Röding, 1798) Subspecies brought into synonymy

Nassarius arcularius arcularius (Linnaeus, 1758) accepted as Nassarius arcularia arcularia (Linnaeus, 1758)

Description The shell size varies between 18 mm and 40 mm. The ovate, ventricose shell is pretty thick. It is composed of six or seven flattened whorls, angular above, and the lowest of which forms of itself half the shell. This body whorl is very much inflated, and furnished externally with thick, longitudinal, distant folds, which are intersected by transverse striae. The upper extremity of each fold is terminated by a conical tubercle, sometimes separated from it by a transverse stria which divides it superficially into two. The upper whorls are convex, loaded also with compact folds and transverse striae. But in these the tubercles are slightly perceptible, and upon some specimens not at all. The white aperture is ovate, and terminates at the summit by an excavated notch at the top of the outer lip, and by a fold of the inner lip. The depth of the cavity is brown or of a violet-color, marked with transverse, whitish bands. The outer lip is thin upon the edge, denticulated in a part of its length, deeply striated internally. The columella is arcuated, covered by the inner lip, which is enlarged upon the body of the shell, and forms a semicircular callosity, often thick, polished, marked at the lower part by transverse guttules, and terminated by an oblique keel, which is prolonged to a point. The color of this shell is generally ash, externally. But sometimes it is bluish, ornamented with one or several transverse, white or brown bands. Another brown band extends always between the tubercles of the body whorl. The operculum is oval and rounded, membranous and denticulated upon one of its edges. This shell, which is very common, has a thickness of up to 3 centimetres (1.2 in), vary in form. The whorls are more or less elongated, the longitudinal folds and the transverse striae, sometimes completely disappear upon the body whorl, nevertheless, tubercles remain which cover this shell, and the furrows at the base, which are very well marked. The coloring varies equally, some specimens are entirely white. Others are of a uniform reddish or chestnut color. The young of this species have folds and striae much more prominent. In them the lip is thin, smooth, and the callosity does not exist upon the columella.

Distribution This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off East Africa, Madagascar and Mozambique and in the Central and Western Pacific Ocean; off East India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Ryukyu Islands, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji, Tonga Islands and Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland).

References

Bibliography Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systemae naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differetiis, synonymis, locis.v. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii 824 pp. Mörch, O.A.L. 1852. Catalogus Conchyliorum quae reliquit d. Alphonso d'Aguirra & Gadea Comes de Yoldi, regis daniae cubiculariorum princeps, ordinis dannebrogici in prima classe & ordinis caroli Tertii eques. Part 1. Cephalophora. Copenhagen : Hafinae Vol. 1 170 pp. Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Mollusques testacés marins de Madagascar. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III Cernohorsky W. O. (1984). Systematics of the Family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum 14: 1–356 Wilson, B. 1994. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.

External links

"Nassarius (Nassarius) arcularius arcularius". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 24 February 2011.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nassarius arcularia

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nassarius arcularia claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nassarius arcularia before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nassarius arcularia ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nassarius arcularia

In research: Nassarius arcularia appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nassarius arcularia in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nassarius arcularia is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, Gastropods described in 1758, Molluscs of the Indian Ocean, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nassarius arcularia outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nassarius arcularia in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nassarius arcularia means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nassarius arcularia out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nassarius arcularia in simple terms?

Why does Nassarius arcularia matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nassarius arcularia?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nassarius arcularia.