Plait (gastropod)

File:Alcithoe swainsoni (base).JPG

Base of Alcithoe swainsoni showing five plaits on the columella, four strong on the left, and one very weak.

In gastropod molluscs, plaits are folds on the columella (also known as the pillar or axis). The columella is the central structure around which the whorls of a coiled gastropod shell encircle.

Plaits are characteristics used in the description of many gastropod molluscs, often enabling similar species to be correctly identified.

References

• Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1