Ancillista hasta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ancillariidae.
Taxonomy
The species was first described as Ancillaria hasta by German zoologist Eduard von Martens in 1902, based on specimens collected during the German Deep-Sea Expedition (1898–1899). It was later reassigned to the genus Ancillista by Richard N. Kilburn in 1993. The original combination Ancillaria hasta is now considered unaccepted.
Description
The shell of Ancillista hasta attains a length of 30 mm and a diameter of 11 mm. It is elongated and lance-shaped, imperforate (lacking an umbilical opening), smooth, and shiny. The coloration is a pale rosy-tawny that turns white toward the apex. The shell has approximately seven rather flat whorls that grow regularly, with the sutures being coated over. The body whorl is moderately narrow and slightly convex, sculpted at its base with three prominent spiral lines that enclose two impressed zones; below these lines, the shell is white. The aperture occupies about two-thirds of the total length and is lance-shaped. The outer lip is slightly wavy and white, while the very bottom of the columellar margin is vertical and thickened.
Distribution
This marine species has been recorded on the Agulhas Bank, off the coast of South Africa.
References
- Martens, E. von (1902). "Einige neue Arten von Meer-Conchylien aus den Sammlungen der deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition unter der Leitung von Prof. Carl Chun, 1898–99". Sitzungs-Berichte der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin. 1902: 241.
- Kilburn, R. N. (1993). "Notes on some South African Ancillinae with descriptions of five new species of Amalda". Annals of the Natal Museum. 34(2): 369–389.
- MolluscaBase (2025). Ancillista hasta (E. von Martens, 1902). Accessed via World Register of Marine Species.
