{{Short description|Species of gastropod}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Speciesbox | image = Nassarius albus (variable nassa snail) (San Salvador Island, Bahamas) 2 (16004939109).jpg | image_caption = ''Phrontis alba'' shell | taxon = Phrontis alba | authority = (Say, 1826) | synonyms_ref = <ref name="WoRMS" /> | synonyms = * ''Nassa alba'' <small>Say, 1826</small> * ''Nassa annelifera'' <small>Reeve, 1853</small> * ''Nassa candei'' <small>d'Orbigny in Sagra, 1843</small> * ''Nassa clathratula'' <small>A. Adams, 1852</small> * ''Nassa obtusata'' <small>A. Adams, 1852</small> * ''Nassa pura'' <small>Marrat, 1877</small> * ''Nassa quinquecostata'' <small>Marrat, 1880</small> * † ''Nassarius (Uzita) floridensis'' <small>Olsson, A.A. & A. Harbison, 1953</small> * ''Nassarius (Uzita) albus'' <small>(Say, 1826)</small> * ''Uzita alba'' <small>(Say, 1826)</small> }}

'''''Phrontis alba''''', common name '''the variable dog whelk''', is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.<ref name="WoRMS">Marshall, B. (2016). Phrontis alba (Say, 1826). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=877063 on 2017-04-27</ref>

The variety ''Nassarius albus'' var. ''nanus'' <small>Nowell-Usticke, 1959</small> is a synonym of ''Phrontis karinae'' <small>Nowell-Usticke, 1971</small>

==Description== The length of the shell varies between 6&nbsp;mm and 13&nbsp;mm. {{Expand section|date=October 2012}}

==Distribution== This species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Lesser Antilles; in the Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina, USA to Brazil.

==References== {{Reflist}} * Cernohorsky W. O. (1984). ''Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda).'' Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum 14: 1–356. * Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico'', Pp.&nbsp;579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. * Petuch E.J. & Myers R.F. (2014). ''Molluscan communities of the Florida Keys and adjacent areas. Their ecology and biodiversity''. CRC Press, Boca Raton. 300 pp. * Galindo L.A., Puillandre N., Utge J., Lozouet P. & Bouchet P. (2016). ''The phylogeny and systematics of the Nassariidae revisited (Gastropoda, Buccinoidea)''. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 99: 337-353

==External links== {{Commons category|Tritia alba}} * {{Gastropods.com|key=9|id=1929|title=''Nassarius (Nassarius) albus''|access-date=16 January 2019}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Phrontis alba}} Category:Nassariidae Category:Gastropods described in 1826

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