Mitra | |
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A drawing of a live individual of Mitra mitra showing its long proboscis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
(unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Neogastropoda |
Superfamily: | Muricoidea |
Family: | Mitridae |
Genus: |
Mitra Lamarck, 1798 |
Species | |
See text. |
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Synonyms | |
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See text.
Mitra is a large genus of medium to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Mitridae, the miter shells or miter snails.
This genus is named after the ecclesiastical headgear, the miter, because of the shells' general shape.
These sea snails create shells that are considered attractive by shell collectors; the shells are solid, high-spired and are often colorful.
According to the World Register of Marine Species, the following species with accepted names are included within the genus Mitra:
Species in this genus also include:
The Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database also includes the following species with names in current use :
Mitra (Strigatella) paupercula
Mitra stictica shell