Dashed humpback snail

Dashed humpback snail
Dashed humpback snail ( Monodonta lineata ), 2 shells in the center of the picture, next to patella lusitanica (limpets) and Mytilus edulis (mussels)
Systematics
Superordinate : Vetigastropoda Superfamily : Trochoid Family : Top snails (Trochidae) Subfamily : Monodontinae Genre : Monodonta Type : Dashed humpback snail
Scientific name
Monodonta lineata
( da Costa , 1776)

The dashed humpback snail ( Monodonta lineata ) is a sea-dwelling snail from the family of top snails .

Appearance

The dashed humpback snail has a strong, conical shell with up to six slightly arched curves. The outside is dark gray with deep purple patterns, the navel is almost completely covered. The snail has a blunt protrusion called a tooth on the inner lip of the mouth . The inside of the three centimeter high snail has a pearly iridescence .

Way of life

At first glance, this humpback snail should be confused with the periwinkle ( Littorina littorea ). It feeds on diatoms , which it grazes on the ground. The dashed humpback snail is not a good climber, so it does not cling to craggy rocks, but prefers gently sloping coasts.

homeland

This snail lives in the Atlantic and in the English Channel , it is also found less often in the North Sea. In the middle and lower tidal zone it lives on protected hard floors.

literature

• BN Desai: The Biology of Monodonta lineata (Da Costa). Proceedings of the malacological Society London, 37: 1-17, London 1966.