Euspira pulchella

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Euspira pulchella
Apertural and abapertural view of the shell of Euspira pulchella.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Naticoidea
Family: Naticidae
Genus: Euspira
Species: E. pulchella
Binomial name
Euspira pulchella
(Risso, 1826)
Synonyms
  • Euspira nitida (Donovan, 1804)
  • Lunatia alderi (Forbes, 1838)

Euspira pulchella (common name : Common necklace shell) is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Naticidae, the moon snails.

Distribution

The Common necklace shell is a common sea snail occurring in the sublittoral zone and deeper waters (exceptionally up to 2,000 m) along sandy coasts of the North Sea, from France to Norway, and the North East Atlantic (Iceland). It is also common in the Mediterranean Sea. It can be frequently found in great numbers washed ashore on beaches. It has been present in the North Sea since the Pliocene.

Description of the shell

The globular shell is rather small with a low spire : max. 16 mm high and 14 mm wide. The shell has a rather pointed apex. There are 5 to 6 gently convex whorls with an undeep suture. The body whorl is strongly rounded and covers almost the whole shell. The aperture is rather ovate and has a smooth outer lip. A siphonal canal is lacking. The umbilicus is partly covered with a callus. The horny operculum is composed of corneous material. The surface of the shell is smooth and shiny and lacks sculpture. Its color is a pale brown-yellow stained with orange to red-brown spots, arranged in four to five spiral lines. The shell of washed up specimens shows often a blue-black discoloration.

Taxonomy

Euspira pulchella was originally described by Risso in 1826 as Natica pulchella. There are many synonyms for this species [1]

  • Euspira nitida (Donovan, 1804) (Treated as a synonym of Lunatia pulchella (Risso, 1826) in Poppe & Goto)
  • Lunatia alderi (Forbes, 1838)
  • Lunatia intermedia (Philippi, 1836)
  • Lunatia nitidia auct. non Donovan, 1800
  • Lunatia poliana (Della Chiaje, 1826) (Based on genus synonymy)
  • Natica alderi Forbes, 1838
  • Natica pulchella Risso, 1826 (Original combination for Euspira pulchella)
  • Polinices (Euspira) pulchellus (Risso, 1826) (currently placed in genus Euspira)
  • Polinices (Lunatia) alderi (Forbes, 1838)
  • Polinices (Lunatia) intermedia (Philippi, 1836)
  • Polinices (Lunatia) nitida auctt. (non Donovan, 1800) (In Backeljau treated as a synonym of Lunatia alderi (Forbes, 1838))
  • Polinices (Lunatia) poliana (Delle Chiaje, 1826)

References

  1. ↑ WoRMS Euspira pulchella

Sources

Further reading

  • Fretter, V. & Graham, A., 1962. British Prosobranch Molluscs. Adlard & Son Ltd, for Ray Society, London, 755 pp.
  • Fretter, V. & Graham, A., 1981. The prosobranch molluscs of Britain and Denmark, 6. - Cerithiacea, Strombacea, Hipponicacea, Calyptraeacea, Lamellariacea, Cypraeacea, Naticacea, Tonnacea, Heteropoda. Journal of Molluscan Studies, Supplement 9, pp. 285-363.
  • Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180-213
  • Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp

External links

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