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triton shell

triton shell

▪ gastropod family
 any of several marine snails constituting the family Cymatiidae (subclass Prosobranchia of the class Gastropoda), in which the shell usually is spired, the body whorl is large, and the aperture in the first whorl of the shell is broadly or narrowly toothed. The triton's shell may be ridged or knobbed.

      Tritons are warm-water predators. Species of the genus Triton are among the largest of the family. Those of the genus Charonia, of the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific region, are called triton trumpets; C. tritonis is actually used as a trumpet in Shintō temples in Japan. For dwarf tritons, see murex.

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Universalium. 2010.

  
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  • Triton (gastropod) — Triton Charonia variegata Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia …   Wikipedia

  • Triton (mythology) — Triton (Τρίτων, gen: Τρίτωνος) is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea. He is usually represented as a merman, having the upper body of a human and the… …   Wikipedia

  • Triton — Tri ton (tr[imac] t[o^]n), n. [L., fr. Gr. Tri twn.] (Gr. Myth.) A fabled sea demigod, the son of Neptune and Amphitrite, and the trumpeter of Neptune. He is represented by poets and painters as having the upper part of his body like that of a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Triton — Tritonic /truy ton ik/, adj. /truyt n/, n. 1. Class. Myth. a son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, represented as having the head and trunk of a man and the tail of a fish, and as using a conch shell trumpet. 2. Astron. a moon of Neptune. 3. (l.c.) any …   Universalium

  • Triton (mollusk) — Taxobox name = Triton status = VU image width = 250px image caption = regnum = Animalia phylum = Mollusca classis = Gastropoda subclassis = Orthogastropoda superordo = Caenogastropoda ordo = Sorbeoconcha subordo = Hypsogastropoda infraordo =… …   Wikipedia

  • Triton Fountain — Bernini s baroque Triton Fountain (Italian Fontana del Tritone ) is located in Piazza Barberini, Rome, near the entrance to the Palazzo Barberini (now housing the Galleria Nazionale d Arte Antica), which Bernini helped redesign for his patron… …   Wikipedia

  • triton — /truy ton/, n. Physics. a positively charged particle consisting of a proton and two neutrons, equivalent to the nucleus of an atom of tritium. Cf. deuteron. [1930 35; < Gk tríton, neut. of trítos THIRD, equiv. to trí TRI + ton neut. adj. suffix; …   Universalium

  • Triton femorale — Goroon shell Go*roon shell (Zo[ o]l.) A large, handsome, marine, univalve shell ({Triton femorale}). [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • triton — I. noun Etymology: Latin, from Greek Tritōn Date: 1536 1. capitalized a son of Poseidon described as a demigod of the sea with the lower part of his body like that of a fish 2. [New Latin, genus name, from Latin Triton] any of various large… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Triton — Her. Triton was one of the minor gods of classical mythology. Heraldically, the word indicated the shell of a sea snail …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases