Mitrella moleculina

Mitrella moleculina
Shell of Mitrella moleculina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Columbellidae
Genus:	Mitrella
Species:	M. moleculina
Binomial name
Mitrella moleculina (Duclos, 1846)
Synonyms [1]
Anachis (Nitidella) moleculina(Duclos, 1840) Anachis moleculina(Duclos, 1840) Columbella inscriptaBrazier, 1877 Columbella moleculinaDuclos, 1835 (basionym) Pyrene moleculina(Duclos, 1840)

Mitrella moleculina is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae, the dove snails. ^[1] This species occurs in the Indian Ocean off Aldabra and Madagascar and in the seas off the Philippines, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. The shell ranges between 6 and 9 millimeters in length. ^[2]

Mitrella moleculina are broadcast spawners, releasing their gametes (sperm and eggs) into open water for external fertilisation.

Distribution

Pacific Ocean: Australia.

Description

This species attains a size of 8 mm.

References

1. Mitrella moleculina (Duclos, 1846à . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 5 November 2010.
2. "Mitrella moleculina". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 5 November 2010.

• Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Mollusques testaces marins de Madagascar. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
• Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
• Kilburn R.N. & Marais J.P. (2010) Columbellidae. Pp. 60–104, in: Marais A.P. & Seccombe A.D. (eds), Identification guide to the seashells of South Africa. Volume 1. Groenkloof: Centre for Molluscan Studies. 376 pp.

External links

• Duclos P.L. (1840). Histoire naturelle générale et particulière de tous les genres de coquilles univalves marines a l'état vivant et fossile, publiée par monographie. Genre Colombelle. Didot, Paris. 13 pl
• Brazier, J. (1877) Shells collected during the Chevert Expedition. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 1, 224–240