Engina mendicaria

Engina mendicaria
Shell of Engina mendicaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Pisaniidae
Genus:	Engina
Species:	E. mendicaria
Binomial name
Engina mendicaria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms [1]
Columbella mendicaria(Linnaeus, 1758) Voluta mendicariaLinnaeus, 1758

Engina mendicaria, common name striped engina or bumble bee snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pisaniidae. ^[1]

Description

var. unilineata

The shell size varies between 10 mm and 20 mm. This shell shows a white or yellowish background with a few transversal black bands and resembles the yellow and black pattern of wasps and bees (hence a common name).

Distribution

This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, in the tropical Indo-Pacific and Australia.

Habitat

These carnivore sea snails live on rocky shores and sand beds. They are mainly nocturnal.

References

1. Engina mendicaria (Linnaeus, 1758) . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 5 November 2010.

• Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Mollusques testaces marins de Madagascar. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
• Kalk, M. (1958). The fauna of the intertidal rocks at Inhaca Island, Delagoa Bay. Ann. Natal Mus. 14: 189–242
• Richmond, M. (Ed.) (1997). A guide to the seashores of Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean islands. Sida/Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC: Stockholm, Sweden. ISBN   91-630-4594-X. 448 pp.

External links

• "Engina mendicaria". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 5 November 2010.