Littorina scutulata

Littorina scutulata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.[1]

Littorina scutulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:
Littorinoidea
Family:
Littorinidae
Genus:
Littorina
Species:
L. scutulata
Binomial name
Littorina scutulata
Gould, 1849
Synonyms[1]

Littorina lepida Gould, 1849

This species lives lower on rocks than does L. planaxis, and migrates up and down rocks with the tide. It crawls out of tidepools at night. Often, it hides at low tide in cracks or barnacle shells. The waves on both sides of the foot are out of phase with one another (ditaxic). It feeds mainly on diatom films, microscopic algae, lichens, etc., and will also feed on Pelvetia, Ulva, and other larger algae. L. scutulata breeds in all seasons except summer. Eggs are laid underwater, individually packaged in flattened capsules within a sausage-shaped gelatinous mass coiled in a spiral and holding over 2000 eggs. Its eye anatomy is similar to that of the land snail Helix aspera. In Oregon, over 10% of individuals harbor parasitic flukes.[2]Leptasterias hexactis feeds on this snail. It is distributed from Kodiak Island, Alaska, to Bahia de Tortuga, Baja California.[2]

References
  1. Littorina scutulata Gould, 1849. Reid, David G. (2009). Littorina scutulata Gould, 1849. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=445657 on 6 June 2010 .
  2. Littorina scutulata Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory "Littorina scutulata" at the Encyclopedia of Life


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