Naticarius stercusmuscarum

Naticarius stercusmuscarum, the Fly-specked Moon Snail, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Naticidae, the moon snails.[1]

Naticarius stercusmuscarum
Temporal range: Pleistocene - Recent
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Fossil shell of Naticarius stercusmuscarum from Pleistocene of Italy
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:
Naticoidea
Family:
Naticidae
Genus:
Naticarius
Species:
N. stercusmuscarum
Binomial name
Naticarius stercusmuscarum
(Gmelin, 1791)
Synonyms
  • Natica millepunctata Lamarck, 1822
  • Natica stercusmuscarum Gmelin, 1791
  • Nerita stercusmuscarum Gmelin, 1791 (basionym)

Description
Drawing of Natica stercusmuscarum

Shells of Naticarius stercusmuscarum can reach a size of 25–56 millimetres (0.98–2.20 in).[2] The shell surface is yellow or color cream with dense, small, red-brown dots. The mantle and the foot of this mollusk are brownish dotted with bright spots. It has a well-developed foot with the two cephalic visible appendages.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This quite common species can be found in the Mediterranean sea and in North Western Africa.[2] It lives mostly on sandy and muddy seabeds but it can also be found on rocky bottoms.[3]

Fossils of this species can be found in sediment of Italy and Greece from Pleistocene to recent.[4]

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References
  1. WoRMS
  2. "Naticarius stercusmuscarum". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  3. Aiamitalia
  4. Evi Vardala-Theodorou & Artemis Nicolaidou On the Recent and fossil malacofauna of “Vouliagmeni Lake”, Perachora (Korinthiakos Gulf, Greece)
  • Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213
  • Huelsken T., Marek K., Schreiber S., Schmidt I. & Hollmann M. (2008). The Naticidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Giglio Island (Tuscany, Italy): Shell characters, live animals, and a molecular analysis of egg masses. Zootaxa 1770: 1-40


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