Melarhaphe neritoides

Melarhaphe neritoides

''Melarhaphe neritoides'', common name : the small periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.

This species was previously known as ''Littorina neritoides''.

''Melarhaphe'' is a monotypic genus, in other words, this is the only species in that genus.
Small periwinkles - Melarhaphe neritoides Checking back my photos from past years I noticed here a few small snail shells, hidden in the barnacles' holes. I even don't know how to start the search! I could not find any information that would give me any direction. I will be happy if anyone can help. Correction: I am happy to identify them with the help of my friends from the Facebook group "Mollusca in Bulgaria" Animal,Animalia,Central Macedonia,Chalkidiki,Europe,Gastropoda,Geotagged,Greece,Littorinidae,Littorinimorpha,Melarhaphe neritoides,Mollusca,Sithonia,Spring,Sykia,Wildlife

Appearance

This is a tiny species with the size of an adult shell varying between 4 mm and 9 mm. It has a high pointed spire. The dark aperture is oval. The purple-brown spiral band can be clearly seen on the body whorl.

The small periwinkle breeds in late winter. Its pelagic egg capsules release planktonic larvae.

Distribution

This species is found in European waters from Norway down south, in the Atlantic Ocean along the Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Morocco, Mauritania; in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionMollusca
ClassGastropoda
OrderLittorinimorpha
FamilyLittorinidae
GenusMelarhaphe
SpeciesM. neritoides
Photographed in
Greece