Kelletia is a genus of large sea snails, whelks, a marine gastropod molluscs in the whelk family Austrosiphonidae.Bouchet, P.; Fraussen, K. (2015). Kelletia Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=490535 on 2016-07-07
Distribution One extant species Kelletia lischkei occurs in the Sea of Japan off the coasts of Japan and South Korea, and another K. kelletii is found of along the coasts of California, United States and in the Baja California, Mexico.
Fossil species are documented in Japan,Ogasawara, K. 2002. Cenozoic Gastropoda. In: Ikeya, N., Hirano, H., Ogasawara, K. eds. The database of Japanese fossil type specimens described during the 20th Century (Part 2). Palaeontological Society of Japan, Special Paper 40. University of Tokyo, Tokyo. California,Hertlein, L.G. 1970. A new species of fossil Kelletia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from the Lomita Marl, Late Cenozoic of San Pedro, California. Contributions in Science 190, 1 - 8.Arnold, R. 1910. Paleontology of the Coalinga District, Fresno and Kings counties, California. United States Geological Survey Bulletin 396Addicott, W.O. 1970. Miocene gastropods and biostratigraphy of the Kern River Area, California. Geological Survey Professional Paper 642. United States Printing Office, WashingtonAnderson, F.M., Martin, B. 1914. Neocene Record in the Temblor Basin, California, and Neocene deposits of San Juan distinct, San Luis Obispo County. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4, 15 - 122.Kanakoff, G.P.. 1954. A new Kelletia from the Pliocene of California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 52, 114 - 117. and Ecuador.Olsson, A.A., 1964. Neogene mollusks from northwestern Ecuador. Palaeontological Research Institution, Ithaca, New York, USA, 256.
Evolution A molecular phylogeny of Buccinidae based on the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene suggested that Kelletia is a closely related to Penion, a whelk genus with extant species distributed in waters off of New Zealand and Australia. Results of a further molecular phylogenetic studies using mitochondrial genomic and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence data re-affirmed this relationship, and also demonstrated that Kelletia and Antarctoneptunea found in the southern Pacific and Southern oceans are closely related. The common ancestor of the three genera most likely evolved in the southern Pacific Ocean, and a lineage leading to Kelletia dispersed over millions of years up the western coast of the Americas into the northern Pacific Ocean. Radulae and opercula morphology is similar between Penion and Kelletia.
Species Extant Species Image Scientific name Distribution Kelletia campbelli Poppe & Tagaro, 2026 Kelletia kelletii (Forbes, 1850) Isla Asunción, Baja California, Mexico to Monterey, California, USA. Kelletia lischkei (Kuroda, T., 1938) Sea of Japan, and is found in coastal waters off of South Korea
Fossils † Kelletia brevis (Ozaki, 1954) † Kelletia ecuadoriana (Olsson, 1964) † Kelletia kanakoffi (Hertlein, 1970) † Kelletia kettlemanensis (Arnold, 1910) † Kelletia lorata (Addicott, 1970) † Kelletia posoensis (Anderson & Martin, 1914) † Kelletia rugosa (Olsson, 1964) † Kelletia vladimiri (Kanakoff, 1954)
References
External links
World Register of Marine Species: Kelletia Bayle in P. Fischer, 1884 Fossilworks Database Kelletia Fischer 1884 (true whelk)