Littorina obtusata

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]

Littorina obtusata
Littorina obtusata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Littorinoidea
Family:	Littorinidae
Genus:	Littorina
Species:	L. obtusata
Binomial name
Littorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Litorina arctica Møller, 1842 Litorina ioides Menke, 1845 Litorina obtusata (Linnaeus, 1758) Litorina obtusata var. fasciata Menke, 1845 Litorina obtusata var. unicolor Menke, 1845 Litorina obtusata var. zonata Menke, 1845 Littorelaea pultneyii Leach in Gray, 1847 Littorina arctica (Møller, 1842) Littorina arctica var. angulata M. Sars, 1851 Littorina arctica var. eliator M. Sars, 1851 Littorina groenlandica var. laevior Mørch, 1857 Littorina obtusata f. elatiorangulata Middendorff, 1849 Littorina obtusata f. globosa Middendorff, 1849 Littorina obtusata f. magnei Sacchi, 1961 Littorina obtusata f. torquata Sacchi, 1963 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. albescens Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1925 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. alternata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. fusca Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. inversicolor Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. olivacea Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. rhabdota Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata littoralis var. rubens Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata lutea Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata var. aestuarii Jeffreys, 1869 Littorina obtusata var. albida Schlesch, 1930 Littorina obtusata var. ambigua Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata var. aurantia Dautzenberg, 1893 Littorina obtusata var. balteata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata var. castanea Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata var. citrina Dautzenberg, 1893 Littorina obtusata var. lineolata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata var. orana Norman, 1888 Littorina obtusata var. ornata Jeffreys, 1865 Littorina obtusata var. pulchra Schlesch, 1930 Littorina obtusata var. tessellata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1915 Littorina obtusata var. virescens Schlesch, 1930 Littorina palliata Say, 1821 Littorina palliata var. auricularia Schlesch, 1916 Littorina palliata var. carinata Schlesch, 1916 Littorina preconica S. Smith, 1860 Littorina tenebrosa f. elatiorcrassa Middendorff, 1849 Littorina tenebrosa var. obtusataea Middendorff, 1849 Nerita litoralis Turton, 1819 Turbo neritiformis Brown, 1827 Turbo obtusatus Linnaeus, 1758 Turbo palliatus Say, 1822 Turbo retusus Lamarck, 1822

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 Northwest 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