Simnialena marferula

Simnialena marferula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda; clade Hypsogastropoda; clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Cypraeoidea
Family:	Ovulidae
Subfamily:	Simniinae
Genus:	Simnialena
Species:	S. marferula
Binomial name
	Simnialena marferula; Cate, 1973
Synonyms[1]
	Neosimnia uniplicata Andrews, 1971

Simnialena marferula is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries.[1] It lives on the sea whip, Leptogorgia virgulata.

Description

The shell of is shiny and smooth, and the shape of an elongated egg, with a flat base which shows a long, narrow, slit-like aperture. The shell grows to 2 cm long and the coil of the typical gastropod shell is not visible. The colour varies from ivory white to pink.

Distribution

Simnialena marferula occurs in shallow water on the eastern coast of the United States, Colombia, Jamaica and Brazil.[2]

Ecology

Simnialena marferula has a symbiotic relationship with the sea whip Leptogorgia virgulata on which it lives. The snail's white colour is derived from the pigments it absorbs and which it incorporates into its shell after eating debris from the coral.[3]

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References

Simnialena marferula Cate, 1973. WoRMS (2009). Simnialena marferula Cate, 1973. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=430995 on 5 June 2010 .
Simnialena uniplicata Gastropods.com. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
Patton, Wendell K. (1972). "Studies on the Animal Symbionts of the Gorgonian Coral, Leptogorgia Virgulata (Lamarck)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 22 (2): 419–431.

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[WoRMS-1] Simnialena marferula Cate, 1973. WoRMS (2009). Simnialena marferula Cate, 1973. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=430995 on 5 June 2010 .

[Gastropods-2] Simnialena uniplicata Gastropods.com. Retrieved 2011-12-11.

[Patton-3] Patton, Wendell K. (1972). "Studies on the Animal Symbionts of the Gorgonian Coral, Leptogorgia Virgulata (Lamarck)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 22 (2): 419–431.