Half-striped Diala
Diala semistriata
Shell up to 7 mm in length (normally 3-4 mm), conical. Protoconch of 2.2-2.5 whorls; protoconch one about one whorl, smooth; protoconch two sinusigera with spiral ridge; colour white to yellow or brown, rarely purple. Teleoconch with almost straight whorls, first whorls with two rounded spiral ribs and weak axial and spiral threads, remainder of spire whorls smooth. Base with six to eleven spiral lines. Suture indented, channeled. Aperture sharply angled posteriorly, bluntly angled anteriorly; inner lip thin, narrow; outer lip prosocline Shell translucent with white and light orange-brown markings; each whorl with alternate white and orange-brown flame-like markings abapical. Each whorl also typically with checkerboard pattern of small white spots outlined in brown above white and brown alternate banding and row of brown square patches widely interspaced with white before suture of each whorl. Inner lip orange to brown.
Morphology
Dialidae are small cerithioideans generally less than 7 mm, while some are upto 145mm long. As oppsoed to small Lithiopidae in the same superfamily, they lack epipodial tentacles. The shells are rather thick, as opposed to lithiopids. The shells may be variably coloured and with spiral and or axial ridges. Most protoconchs have plankthotrophic characters, including a strong sinusigeral notch. The Dialidae was only delineated taxonomically and anatomically in the past 30 years.
Evolution
Dialids are known from the Early Miocene of Eniwatok and Bikini Atolls. Extant taxa are known from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits in Australia.
Method of reproduction
Dialids are gonochoristic and fertilisation is by paraspematozoa carying the euspamatozoa. Egg capsulues are benthic and simple.
Habitat
Marine
The species may be found in sea grass areas, on macroalgae or in coral rubble or sand, in shallow water. Very little is known to date about their ecology.
Distribution
Indo-west Pacific
Life Cycle
Benthic adults, most with free swimming larvae
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Cerithioidea |
| Family: | Dialidae |
| Genus: | Diala |
| Species: | semistriata |
| Name Published Year: | 1849 |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name Authorship: | Phillippi |
| Commercial Impact: | None |
| Conservation Assessment: | Least Concern |
Cite this page
Western Australian Museum Collections https://museum.wa.gov.au/online-collections/names/diala-semistriata
Accessed 16 Jun 2024
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