Trivia merces
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Trivia merces | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Beachworn shells of the species, with sand grains stuck in the aperture
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| Trivia merces (Iredale, 1924) |
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Trivellona excelsa Iredale 1931 |
Trivia merces is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod molluscs in the family Triviidae, the trivias.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to southern and southeastern Australia including Tasmania, and the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. In New Zealand it is known as the New Zealand cowry.
[edit] Habitat
This trivia usually lives in deep water.
[edit] Shell description
The shell is rather small, thin, ovate, and slightly narrowed anteriorly. Sculpture is of transverse ribs throughout, interrupted dorsally by a shallow groove.
The shell coloration is pinkish-white, with the extremities rose tinted, and with several variable dorsal reddish-brown maculations.
The shell length is up to 14 mm, width 9.5 mm, and height 8.5 mm.
[edit] References
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 85467-054-8
