Amphibola crenata
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| Amphibola crenata (Gmelin, 1791) |
Amphibola crenata (titiko in the Māori language) is a common gastropod mollusc, the only member of the family Amphibolidae. This walnut-sized species is endemic to New Zealand, and is found on tidal mudflats, often in great numbers, and in the past was an important food for Māori.
Amphibola crenata is interesting as it represents a transitional phase between marine and terrestrial gastropods. The mantle is employed as a lung, and so immersion of the animal in sea water is of secondary importance, and occurs for not more than an hour at each high tide. It is the only air-breathing marine snail with an operculum and veliger larva.
The thick shell has a coarsely wrinkled surface. The whorls are shouldered with a spiral ridge, and there is a crescentic umbilicus, also bounded by a ridge. The colour is yellowish-brown externally and purplish-brown within the aperture, but the peristome is whitish.
[edit] References
- Powell A W B, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- 1966 Te Ara encyclopedia entry
