Littorina obtusata
Littorina obtusata | |
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Littorina obtusata | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Gastropoda |
(unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha |
Superfamily: | Littorinoidea |
Family: | Littorinidae |
Genus: | Littorina |
Species: | L. obtusata |
Binomial name | |
Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Litorina arctica Møller, 1842 |
Littorina obtusata, common name the flat periwinkle, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.[1]
Distribution
This marine species occurs wherever brown seaweeds grow. It is widely distributed : the Baltic Sea, in European waters from Norway down to Southern Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean along the Gulf of Maine.
Description
The maximum recorded shell length is 13.5 mm.[2]
Habitat
This species can be found in the littoral and sublittoral zone on rocky shores and piers, usually on brown algae of the genus Fucus. Minimum recorded depth is 0 m.[2] Maximum recorded depth is 110 m.[2] The habitat defines its color. On sheltered shores it has a lighter and uniform color (yellow, brown, orange or olive green). On exposed shores its color is darker and chequered.
References
- Notes
- 1 2 Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758). Gofas, S. (2010). Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140263 on 6 June 2010.
- 1 2 3 Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008776.
- Bibliography
- Backeljau, T. (1986). Lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van België [List of the recent marine molluscs of Belgium]. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Brussels, Belgium. 106 pp
- Reid, D.G. (1989a) The comparative morphology, phylogeny and evolution of the gastropod family Littorinidae. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 324: 1-110
- Reid D.G. (1996). Systematics and evolution of Littorina. The Ray Society 463p
- BODC (2009). Species list from the British Oceanographic Data Centre
External links
- Gastropods.com : Littorina (Littorina) obtusata obtusata; accessed : 16 May 2011
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