Dashed humpback snail
Dashed humpback snail | ||||||||||||
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![]() Dashed humpback snail ( Monodonta lineata ), |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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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.