Littoraria scabra

Littoraria scabra, common name : the mangrove periwinkle, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.[1]

Littoraria scabra
Littoraria scabra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:
Littorinoidea
Family:
Littorinidae
Genus:
Littoraria
Species:
L. scabra
Binomial name
Littoraria scabra
Synonyms[1]
  • Buccinulum (Evarnula) multilineum Powell, A.W.B., 1929
  • Buccinum foliorum Gmelin, 1791
  • Buccinum lineatum Gmelin, 1791
  • Helix scabra Linnaeus, 1758
  • Litorina scabra var. punctata Philippi, 1847
  • Litorina scabra var. rubra Philippi, 1847
  • Littorina novaehiberniae Lesson, 1831
  • Littorina pallescens var. erronea Nevill, 1885
  • Littorina scabra (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Littorina scabra tenuis Nevill, 1885
  • Melarhaphe scabra (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Turbo striatus Linnaeus, C. in Schumacher, H.C.F., 1838

Distribution and habitat

This species is distributed in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, the Seychelles and Tanzania; in the Pacific Ocean along Hawaii and New Zealand.[2] These snails live on rocky shores and on the mangroves.[3]

A shell of Littoraria scabra

Description

The size of an adult shell of Littoraria scabra varies between 15 mm and 40 mm.[2] These shells are ovate-conical, without an umbilicus. The outer surface shows a spiral sculpture without nodules, with a pattern of irregular dark stripes.[4] As in other bark-living snail species the shell color is brown. The mouth is rounded and the radula quite long, in order to adapt to the surface or the bark.[5]

Biology

These snails are grazers on the roots, trunks, branches, and leaves of their host plants where they feed on zooplankton, bacteria, algae and mangrove tissues. These generalist herbivores daily vertical migrate along mangrove trees to avoid tidal submersion.[6]

References
  1. Littoraria scabra (Linnaeus, 1758). Reid, David G. (2010). Littoraria scabra (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=208939 on 6 June 2010 .
  2. "Littorinopsis scabra". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  3. Atoll research bulletin – National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) no. 495 July 2002
  4. Littorinidae at FAO
  5. Peter J. Hogarth (2015). The Biology of Mangroves and Seagrasses. Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-19-871655-6.
  6. Andrea C. Alfaro Diet of Littoraria scabra, while vertically migrating on mangrove trees: Gut content, fatty acid, and stable isotope analyses

Bibliography
  • Barry Wilson – Australian Marine Shells Part 1
  • Deepak Apte – The Book of Indian Shells – Bombay Natural History Society, 1998
  • Hsi-Jen Tao – Shells of Taiwan Illustrated in Colour
  • Reid, D.G. (1986). The littorinid molluscs of mangrove forests in the Indo-Pacific region – British Museum (Natural History), London
  • Robert Tucker Abbott – Seashells of Southeast Asia – Graham Brash, 1991
  • Rosewater, J. 1970. The family Littorinidae in the Indo-Pacific. Part I. The subfamily Littorininae. – Indo-Pac. Moll.,2(11):417–506.
  • Rosewater, J. 1972. The family Littorinidae in the Indo-Pacific. Part II. The subfamilies Tectariinae and Echininae. Indo-Pac. Moll., 2(12):507–528
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