Nerita melanotragus
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| Nerita melanotragus | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Nerita melanotragus E. A. Smith, 1884 |
Nerita melanotragus, common name black nerite, is a medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Neritidae, the nerites. There has been some confusion over the taxonomy of the Nerita genus in the Pacific region, however Nerita atramentosa and Nerita melanotragus are now recognised as separate species (the two have often been considered to be the same species).
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[edit] Distribution
This nerite is endemic to southern Pacific, including the south-eastern coast of Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania), Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island, northern New Zealand and the Kermadec Islands.
[edit] Habitat
This species is commonly found on intertidal rocks, particularly in the mid to upper intertidal zone. It prefers to attach to sloped or vertical rock surfaces, or hang from the underside of rocks. This may be a method of thermoregulation, as if N. atramentosa is on a horizontal surface, it will absorb the maximum solar radiation. By contrast, if it is on a greater angle to the sun, it absorbs less energy (and thus heat).
[edit] Shell description
The shell is of moderate size, very solid, globose-oval, and smooth except for weak shallowly incised spiral lines. The external shell colour is black, but the aperture is white, except for a narrow black border.
The operculum is granular, pinkish-lilac, with two spiral bands of black.
The shell height is up to 30 mm, and width 32 mm.
[edit] References
- Spencer, H.G., Waters, J.M. & Eichhorst, T.E. (2007) Taxonomy and nomenclature of black nerites (Gastropoda: Neritimorpha: Nerita) from the South Pacific. Invertebrate Systematics, 21, 229-237.
- Waters, J.M., King, T.M., O'Loughlin, P.M. & Spencer, H.G. (2005) Phylogeographic disjunction in an abundant high-dispersal littoral gastropod. Molecular Ecology, 14 pp. 2789-2802
