Littorina obtusata

Littorina obtusata
Littorina obtusata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
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

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]

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.

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 13.5 mm. ^[2]

L. obtusata: various shell colours

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. ^[2] Maximum recorded depth is 110 m. ^[2] 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.

References

Notes

1. 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. 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.

Bibliography

• Backeljau, T. (1986). Lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van België [List of the recent marine molluscs of Belgium]. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Brussels, Belgium. 106 pp
• Reid, D.G. (1989a) The comparative morphology, phylogeny and evolution of the gastropod family Littorinidae. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 324: 1–110
• Reid D.G. (1996). Systematics and evolution of Littorina. The Ray Society 463p
• BODC (2009). Species list from the British Oceanographic Data Centre

External links

• "Littorina (Littorina) obtusata obtusata". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
• Photos of Littorina obtusata on Sealife Collection