Turridae
Thatcheria mirabilis Angas, 1877

Thatcheria mirabilis

Description
Pale brown. The fresh shell has some pale purple stripes but these stripes fades several days later. Spire looks like a spiral staircase.

Locality
Japan: Off Chosi, Mouth of Tokyo Bay in 250m-300m, Sagami Bay in 300m, Enshunada, Off Kii Peninsula, Tosa Bay, Kyushu. Taiwan. Philippines. Australia.

Original articles of scientific name
1877 Thatcheria mirabilis Angas, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1877 (34), p. 529, pl. 54, fig. 1.

Original of Japanese name
1843 Musashi Sekiju Mokuhachifu.

Remarks
This shell was known as rare shell since Edo age in Japan. Therefore, it took 68 years from the first showing in Kigaizufu (1775) to showing in Mokuhachifu (1843) next. The specimen shown in Kigaizufu of Kimura Kenkado was Tamaoki Kiichi's collection. And the one shown in Mokuhachifu of Musashi Sekiju was Tamaru Kansen's collection. Thus, even authors who were ardent collectors were not able to collect this shell by themselves. Body whorl can be weakly tied up usually. However, the figured specimen is a little fat. The same type one as this is drawn in Kigaizufu.


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