Littorina obtusata

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Littorina obtusata
Littorina obtusata 01.jpg
Littorina obtusata
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Littorinidae
Genus: Littorina
Species:
L. obtusata
Binomial name
Littorina obtusata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms [1]

Litorina arcticaMøller, 1842
Litorina ioidesMenke, 1845
Litorina obtusata(Linnaeus, 1758)
Litorina obtusata var. fasciataMenke, 1845
Litorina obtusata var. unicolorMenke, 1845
Litorina obtusata var. zonataMenke, 1845
Littorelaea pultneyiiLeach in Gray, 1847
Littorina arctica(Møller, 1842)
Littorina arctica var. angulataM. Sars, 1851
Littorina arctica var. eliatorM. Sars, 1851
Littorina groenlandica var. laeviorMørch, 1857
Littorina obtusata f. elatiorangulataMiddendorff, 1849
Littorina obtusata f. globosaMiddendorff, 1849
Littorina obtusata f. magneiSacchi, 1961
Littorina obtusata f. torquataSacchi, 1963
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. albescensDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1925
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. alternataDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. fuscaDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. inversicolorDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. olivaceaDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. rhabdotaDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata littoralis var. rubensDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata luteaDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata var. aestuariiJeffreys, 1869
Littorina obtusata var. albidaSchlesch, 1930
Littorina obtusata var. ambiguaDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata var. aurantiaDautzenberg, 1893
Littorina obtusata var. balteataDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata var. castaneaDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata var. citrinaDautzenberg, 1893
Littorina obtusata var. lineolataDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata var. oranaNorman, 1888
Littorina obtusata var. ornataJeffreys, 1865
Littorina obtusata var. pulchraSchlesch, 1930
Littorina obtusata var. tessellataDautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915
Littorina obtusata var. virescensSchlesch, 1930
Littorina palliataSay, 1821
Littorina palliata var. auriculariaSchlesch, 1916
Littorina palliata var. carinataSchlesch, 1916
Littorina preconicaS. Smith, 1860
Littorina tenebrosa f. elatiorcrassaMiddendorff, 1849
Littorina tenebrosa var. obtusataeaMiddendorff, 1849
Nerita litoralisTurton, 1819
Turbo neritiformisBrown, 1827
Turbo obtusatusLinnaeus, 1758
Turbo palliatusSay, 1822
Turbo retususLamarck, 1822

Contents

Littorina obtusata, common name the flat periwinkle, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. [1]

Description

Littorina obtusata, Flat Periwinkles, are sea snails and sea slugs. They grow to 1.5 cm in height. [2] They can be brown, yellow, olive green, and black. [3] They are mostly found in the colors of brown, reddish brown, or yellow, with few being red or white because of the abundance of brown seaweed. [4] Littorina obtusata get the name, Flat Periwinkle, because they have a flattened spire and a large tear-dropped shaped aperture. The last whorl of the shell makes up 90% of their height. [5] The maximum recorded shell length is 13.5 mm. [6] This species is mainly littoral, but also has gill respiration. [7] This means that they can survive both in water, and extended amounts of time on land.

L. obtusata: various shell colours Flat Periwinkles (littorina obtusata) - geograph.org.uk - 805818.jpg
L. obtusata: various shell colours

Distribution

This marine species occurs wherever brown seaweeds grow. It is widely distributed: the Baltic Sea, in European waters from Norway down to Southern Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean along the Gulf of Maine.

Scientific Background

The flat periwinkle is not highly studied, so not much is known about them. Despite this, there have been recent developments in research on them, such as the following: It has been suspected that the L. Obtusata and L. Falbalis were the same species, then diverged into two species during their evolution. Scientists were still debating when this divergence occurred. [8] L. Obtusata tends to be bigger and live longer than L. Falbalis. Research suggests that L. Obtusata and L. Falbalis are starting to hybridize despite the strong differences in their genetics. The name of the hybridized species is L. Saxatilis, but there is little information and research on it. [9]

Habitat

This species can be found in the littoral and sublittoral zone on rocky shores and piers, usually on brown algae of the genus Fucus . Minimum recorded depth is 0 m. [6] Maximum recorded depth is 110 m. [6] The habitat may define its color. On sheltered shores it has a lighter and uniform color (yellow, brown, orange or olive green). On exposed shores its color is darker and chequered. They are tolerant of low salinities and wide ranges of exposure. [3]

Diet

Littorina obtusata are herbivores that primarily eat algae. They scrape algae from surfaces using their radula which contains thousands of tiny teeth. [10] They are commonly associated with, and feed upon, the dominant intertidal brown algae, Ascophyllum nodosum. [11]

Threats

Littorina obtusata are very good at adapting to new areas and predators. Their largest predator is the Carcinus maenas, the green crab. As the threat of these crabs raised, Littorina obtusata's shells have thickened to protect themselves. [12] Wader birds also threaten Littorina obtusata's population. They forage in intertidal zones, preferring the low-water mudflats, but when they are submerged, they use the Ascophyllum/Fucus belts [4]

Reproduction

Female Littorina obtusata deposit spawn masses on Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus serratus, Fucus vesiculosus, and sometimes on rock surfaces. Their eggs are whitish and oval, or kidney shaped. They are encased in a mass of transparent jelly. [7] Littorina obtusata eggs take up to four weeks to fully develop and for the snail to emerge. [5] Sexual maturity is reached at about two years. They continue to reproduce all year round with their maximum from spring to fall [7]

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758) . Gofas, S. (2010). Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=140263 on 6 June 2010 .
  2. n.d. The Wildlife Trusts. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/sea-snails-and-sea-slugs/flat-periwinkle
  3. 1 2 Pizzolla, P.F. 2008. The Marine Life Information Network. April 17. Accessed April 3, 2025. https://marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1487
  4. 1 2 Johannesson, Kerstin; Ekendahl, Anette (2002). "Selective predation favouring cryptic individuals of marine snails (Littorina)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 76 (1): 137–144. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2002.tb01720.x.
  5. 1 2 Pizzolla, P.F. 2008. The Marine Life Information Network. April 17. Accessed April 3, 2025. https://marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1487.
  6. 1 2 3 Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLoS ONE 5(1): e8776. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0008776 .
  7. 1 2 3 Scouppe, Christian; Ziemski, Frédéric; Muller, Yves (2023). "Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758)". DORIS.
  8. Sotelo, Graciela; Duvetorp, Mårten; Costa, Diana; Panova, Marina; Johannesson, Kerstin; Faria, Rui (December 2020). "Phylogeographic history of flat periwinkles, Littorina fabalis and L. obtusata". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 20 (1): 23. Bibcode:2020BMCEE..20...23S. doi: 10.1186/s12862-019-1561-6 . ISSN   1471-2148. PMC   7011314 . PMID   32039690.
  9. Marques, J.P; Sotelo, G; Galindo, J (2020). "Transcriptomic resources for evolutionary studies in flat periwinkles and related species". Sci Data. 73 (7). Bibcode:2020NatSD...7...73M. doi:10.1038/s41597-020-0408-8. hdl: 11093/3429 . PMC   7054417 .
  10. 2024. Flat periwinkles: Their diet and feeding behavior. January 26. Accessed April 3, 2025. https://angolatransparency.blog/en/what-do-flat-periwinkles-eat/
  11. Wilbur, Andrew K., and Robert S. Steneck. 1999. "Polychromatic Patterns of Littorina obtusata on Ascophyllum nodosum: Are Snails." Eagle Hill Institute 189-198. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3858593
  12. Velasco, Schuyler. 2025. "Shells of their former selves: How sea snails have adapted to invasive predators." Northeastern University. doi:https://phys.org/news/2025-03-shells-sea-snails-invasive-predators.html
Bibliography