| Cerithium litteratum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cerithium litteratum shell | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Family: | Cerithiidae |
| Genus: | Cerithium |
| Species: | C. litteratum |
| Binomial name | |
| Cerithium litteratum (Born, 1778) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Cerithium angustum Anton, 1838 Contents | |
Cerithium litteratum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae. [1]
Cerithium litteratum has been living in shallower waters and reefs of the Western Central Atlantic Ocean, from South Carolina to Florida including the Gulf of Mexico in North America over Central America (Belize) to South America (Brazil), and has been documented in the Indian Ocean. [1] It prefers water temperatures and ecosystems associated with a tropical climate. [2] It was judged to be an 'occasional' alien species in the Mediterranean Sea, based on a 1978 find by fishers in the Aegean Sea. [3]
As of 2010 [update] the maximum recorded shell length has been 34 mm. [4]
As of 2010 [update] the snail has been found between sea level and a maximum recorded depth of 88 m below sea level. [4] which means it lives in the sunlight zone of the pelagic.
The snail is a herbivore, feeding on algae for example. [3] Small hermit crabs, mostly Calcinus tibicen but also Paguristes punticeps and Paguristes cadenati have long been known to move into its empty shells. [5]
Experimental evidence exists, that the snail helps to recruit corals by removing algae on subsurfaces, which compete with the coral's settlement. [6]
Fish prey on the snail, and the Caribbean hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus for example, can crush the mollusc with its jaw. Biomechanical research has found Cerithium predation to be limited by force, rather than by the gape of the jaw. [7]
The hogfish, also known as boquinete, doncella de pluma or pez perro in Mexico is a species of wrasse native to the Western Atlantic Ocean, living in a range from Nova Scotia, Canada, to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico. This species occurs around reefs, especially preferring areas with plentiful gorgonians. It is a carnivore which feeds on molluscs, as well as crabs and sea urchins. This species is currently the only known member of its genus.
Paguristes cadenati, the red reef hermit crab or scarlet hermit crab, is a small species of hermit crab with a bright red body and yellow eyestalks that lives in the Caribbean Sea. The specific name honours the French ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908-1992), who collected the type specimen and sent it to the French carcinologist Jacques Forest, who described it as a new species.
Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra. Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.
Cerithium is a genus of small to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cerithiidae, the ceriths.
Cittarium pica, common name the West Indian top shell or magpie shell, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Tegulidae. This species has a large black and white shell.
Littoraria angulifera or the mangrove periwinkle is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles.
Diogenes pugilator is a species of hermit crab, sometimes called the small hermit crab or south-claw hermit crab. It is found from the coast of Angola to as far north as the North Sea, and eastwards through the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Red Sea. Populations of D. pugilator may be kept in check by the predatory crab Liocarcinus depurator.
Cerithium atratum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Cerithium bayeri is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Cerithium caeruleum, the Cerith sand snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae. Cerithium caeruleum, also be called Cerithium caeruleum G.B. Sowerby II, 1855 generally can be found in large populations on intertidal rocky shores and are covered by a thin layer of sediments. They have large and solid shells, and their radula ribbon robust long about one-fifth the shell length. This species lives in the planktonic stage from 90 to 120 days and has a seven-year life history. This common intertidal species is confined to east Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula and is unlikely to be confused with any other Cerithium species. It is distinguished by its squat, knobby shape; and as indicated by its name, caeruleum, a grayish blue color with spiral rows of black tubercles.
Cerithium eburneum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Cerithium guinaicum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Cerithium lindae is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Cerithium lutosum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Cerithium muscarum is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cerithiidae.
Vermicularia spirata, common name the West Indian worm-shell or the West Indian wormsnail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turritellidae. Juveniles can move around, but larger individuals become sessile.
Calcinus verrillii, commonly known as Verrill's hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the genus Calcinus which is endemic to Bermuda. It was first described by the American zoologist Mary J. Rathbun and named in honour of the American zoologist Addison Emery Verrill, who spent much time with his students studying the geology and marine fauna of Bermuda.
Diogenes heteropsammicola is a species of hermit crab discovered during samplings between 2012 and 2016 in the shallow waters of the Japanese Amami Islands. This D. heteropsammicola is strongly associated with the walking corals. This hermit crab species is unique due to the discovery that they use living, growing coral as a shell. The live in the inside of the coral and vary from other types of hermits. Crustaceans of this type commonly replace their shell as the organism grows in size, but D. heteropsammicola are the first of their kind to use solitary corals as a shell form. Heteropsammia and Heterocyathus are the two solitary corals that this hermit species has been observed as occupying. These two coral species are also used as a home by symbiotic Sipuncula of the genus Aspidosiphon, which normally occupy the corals that were previously occupied by crabs.
Pagurus forbesii is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Paguristes puncticeps is a hermit crab, in the family Diogenidae. It is found in shallow waters in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Like other hermit crabs, it lives inside an empty mollusc shell, which it changes periodically as it grows.
