Nerita is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of medium-sized sea snail

Sea snail

Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....

s with a gill

Gill

A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...

 and an operculum

Operculum (gastropod)

The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...

, marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod molluscs in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Neritidae

Neritidae

Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum, marine, brackish water and freshwater gastropod mollusks in the order Neritoida....

, the nerites.

This is the type genus

Type genus

In biological classification, a type genus is a representative genus, as with regard to a biological family. The term and concept is used much more often and much more formally in zoology than it is in botany, and the definition is dependent on the nomenclatural Code that applies:* In zoological...

 of the family Neritidae.

Distribution and habitat

Species of Nerita can be found worldwide in tropical waters in the middle and upper intertidal zone

Intertidal zone

The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...

s. They are gregarious herbivores.

Description

The thick shell is broadly ovate or globular and low-spired. It has a smooth surface. The shells are spirally ribbed or show some axial sculpturing

Sculpture (mollusc)

The sculpture of a mollusc shell is the three-dimensional ornamentation on the outer surface, as distinct from the basic shape of the shell itself or colouration. Sculpture may be concave as well as convex. Sometimes it has microscopic detail. Sculpture refers to the calcareous outer layer, not the...

. The ventral side has a large columella

Columella

Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...

r callus or parietal wall. The callus shows small pustules. The aperture

Aperture (mollusc)

The aperture is an opening in certain kinds of mollusc shells: it is the main opening of the shell, where part of the body of the animal emerges for locomotion, feeding, etc....

 and the edge of the columella are usually dentate with fine or robust teeth. The calcareus operculum

Operculum (gastropod)

The operculum, meaning little lid, is a corneous or calcareous anatomical structure which exists in many groups of sea snails and freshwater snails, and also in a few groups of land snails...

 is thick and can be smooth or with a granular structure. The whorls

Whorl (mollusc)

A whorl is a single, complete 360° revolution or turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell. A spiral configuration of the shell is found in of numerous gastropods, but it is also found in shelled cephalopods including Nautilus, Spirula and the large extinct subclass of cephalopods known as the...

 are covered with strong spiral cords.

Taxonomy

Several subgenera have been proposed in the course of time. But various authors in the past couldn't not agree on the placement of many species. The subgeneric placement of the species of Nerita has been revised by Vermeij in 1984. Inconsistencies still remain over the use and validity of many taxonomic names. as species show a wide variety of colors and patterns, giving rise to many synonyms.

Species

Species within the genus Nerita include:

• Nerita albicilla
  Nerita albicilla
  Nerita albicilla, common name the blotched nerite, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.-Description:...
  
  Linnaeus, 1758
• Nerita amplisulcata
  Nerita amplisulcata
  Nerita amplisulcata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Macsotay & Villarroel, 2001
• Nerita ascensionis Gmelin, 1791
• Nerita atrata
  Nerita atrata
  Nerita atrata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Chemnitz, 1781
• Nerita balteata Reeve, 1855
• Nerita birmanica "Philippi" : probably congeneric with Nerita articulata
• Nerita bisecta
  Nerita bisecta
  Nerita bisecta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Reeve, 1855
• Nerita chrysostoma
  Nerita chrysostoma
  Nerita chrysostoma is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Récluz, 1841
• Nerita costata
  Nerita costata
  Nerita costata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Gmelin, 1791
• Nerita debilis
  Nerita debilis
  Nerita debilis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Dufo
• Nerita filosa
  Nerita filosa
  Nerita filosa is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Reeve, 1855
• Nerita forskali
  Nerita forskali
  Nerita forskali is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Récluz, 1841
• Nerita fulgurans
  Nerita fulgurans
  Nerita fulgurans is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Gmelin, 1791 - Antillean nerite
• Nerita japonica
  Nerita japonica
  Nerita japonica is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.Nerita japonica is the type species of the subgenus Heminerita von Martens, 1887....
  
  Dunker, 1860
• Nerita lirellata
  Nerita lirellata
  Nerita lirellata is a species of sea snailwith a gill and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Rehder, 1980
• Nerita luteonigra
  Nerita luteonigra
  Nerita luteonigra is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Dekker, 2000
• Nerita marinduquenensis
  Nerita marinduquenensis
  Nerita marinduquenensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Vallejo, 2000
• Nerita neritopsoides
  Nerita neritopsoides
  Nerita neritopsoides is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  
• Nerita peloronta
  Nerita peloronta
  Nerita peloronta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.-Description:This shell large among nerites, is thick and short spired. Its surface may have slighty raised spiral ridges. The dark red operculum is granulated on its inner side...
  
  Linnaeus, 1758 - bleeding tooth
• Nerita plicata
  Nerita plicata
  Nerita plicata is a species of tropical sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites. This species is found throughout the Indo-West Pacific.-Habitat:This species lives high up in the intertidal zone, on rocks....
  
  Linnaeus, 1758
• Nerita sanguinolenta
  Nerita sanguinolenta
  Nerita sanguinolenta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Menke, 1829
• Nerita senegalensis
  Nerita senegalensis
  Nerita senegalensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Gmelin, 1791
• Nerita tessellata
  Nerita tessellata
  Nerita tessellata, sometimes known as the "checkered nerite" is a species of tropical sea snail with a gill and an operculum, a nerite, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.- Distribution :...
  
  Gmelin, 1791 - checkered nerite
• Nerita textilis
  Nerita textilis
  Nerita textilis, common name the textile nerite, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Gmelin, 1791
• Nerita undata
  Nerita undata
  Nerita undata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Linnaeus, 1758 (forms a complex)
  • Nerita undata quadricolor
  • Nerita undata spengleriana Recluz, 1844
  • Nerita undata undata Linnaeus, 1758
• Nerita versicolor
  Nerita versicolor
  Nerita versicolor is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Gmelin, 1791 - four-tooth nerite
• Nerita yoldii
  Nerita yoldii
  Nerita yoldii is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.-References:* Récluz, C. 1841. Description de quelques nouvelles espèces de Nérites vivantes . Revue Zoologique 4: 147-152...
  
  Récluz, 1841

Subgenus Adenerita Dekker, 2000

• Nerita adenensis
  Nerita adenensis
  Nerita adenensis is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Mienis, 1978

Subgenus Amphinerita von Martens, 1887

• Nerita incerta Von dem Busch in Philippi, 1844
• Nerita insculpta
  Nerita insculpta
  Nerita insculpta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Récluz, 1841
• Nerita olivaria Le Guillou, 1841
• Nerita umlaasiana
  Nerita umlaasiana
  Nerita umlaasiana is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Krauss, 1848

Subgenus Argonerita Frey & Vermeij, 2008

• Nerita argus
  Nerita argus
  Nerita argus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Récluz, 1841
• Nerita aterrima
  Nerita aterrima
  Nerita aterrima is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.-Distribution:This species is distributed in the Pacific Ocean along the Philippines and Western Australia.-External links:*...
  
  Gmelin, 1791
• Nerita chamaeleon
  Nerita chamaeleon
  Nerita chamaeleon is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Linnaeus, 1758
• Nerita fragum Reeve, 1855
• Nerita ocellata Le Guillou, 1841
• Nerita oryzarum Récluz, 1841
• Nerita signata
  Nerita signata
  Nerita signata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Lamarck, 1822
• Nerita squamulata Le Guillou, 1841

Subgenus Cymostyla von Martens, 1887
Subgenus Heminerita von Martens, 1887
Subgenus Ilynerita von Martens, 1887

• Nerita planospira
  Nerita planospira
  Nerita planospira is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae....
  
  Anton, 1839

Subgenus Linnerita Vermeij, 1984

• Nerita polita
  Nerita polita
  Nerita polita is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.-Description:Nerita polita has distinctive smooth and polished shell, up to 4 cm. It has smooth columella with 2-4 weak teeth on the edge. Colour is variable, mottled grey, red or cream, sometimes with axial...
  
  Linnaeus, 1758

Subgenus Lisanerita Krijnen, 2002
Subgenus Nerita Linné, 1758
Subgenus Ritena Gray, 1858
Subgenus Theliostyla Mörch, 1852

• Nerita funiculata Menke, 1851
• Nerita lineata
  Nerita lineata
  Nerita lineata is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae.- Habitat :Mangrove forests.This species can be used as bioindicator of heavy metals in its environment, because it accumulates cadmium, nickel and lead in its shell and copper, zinc and iron in its soft...
  
  Chemnitz, 1774 - lined nerite
• Nerita melanotragus
  Nerita melanotragus
  Nerita melanotragus, common name black nerite, is a medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Neritidae, the nerites....
  
  
• Nerita spengleriana Recluz, 1844

The Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database also includes the following species with names in current use

• Nerita amoena (Gould, 1847)
• Nerita apiata Récluz, 1843
• Nerita articulata Gould, 1847
• Nerita asperulata Récluz, 1843
• Nerita avellana Récluz, 1842
• Nerita bicolor Récluz, 1843
• Nerita bruguierei Récluz, 1841
• Nerita chemnitzii Récluz, 1841
• Nerita corrosula Récluz, 1842
• Nerita dacostae Récluz, 1844
• Nerita grayana Récluz, 1844
• Nerita hindsii Récluz, 1844 : synonym of Nerita (Argonerita) squamulata Le Guillou, 1841
• Nerita histrio Linnaeus, 1758 : synonym of Nerita (Argonerita) squamulata Le Guillou, 1841
• Nerita maculata Pease, 1867 : synonym of Nerita (Argonerita) argus Récluz, 1841
• Nerita maxima Gmelin, 1791
• Nerita menkeana Récluz, 1842
• Nerita nigrita Röding, 1798
• Nerita panayana Récluz, 1843
• Nerita panayensis Récluz, 1844
• Nerita pfeifferiana Récluz, 1843
• Nerita phasiana Récluz, 1842
• Nerita radiata Récluz, 1841
• Nerita sayana Récluz, 1844
• Nerita scabricosta Lamarck, 1822
  • Nerita scabricosta scabricosta Lamarck, 1822
  • Nerita scabricosta ornata Sowerby, 1833
• Nerita souleyetana Récluz, 1842
• Nerita succinea Récluz, 1841
• Nerita tenebrosa Récluz, 1842

Subgenus Amphinerita

• • Nerita polita antiquata Récluz, 1841-b
  • Nerita polita polita Linnaeus, 1758
  • Nerita polita rumphii Récluz, 1841 : often referred to as Nerita litterata as a polymorphic variation of a single species

Subgenus Cymostyla von Martens in Kobelt, 1887

• Nerita longii Récluz, 1842
• Nerita quadricolor Gmelin, 1791

Subgenus Heminerita Martens, 1887

• Nerita morio Sowerby, 1833

Subgenus Linnerita Vermeij, 1984

• Nerita antiquata Récluz, 1841
• Nerita doreyana Quoy & Gaimard, 1835
• Nerita orbignyana
  Nerita orbignyana
  Nerita orbignyana is a species of sea snail with an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites....
  
  Récluz, 1841

Subgenus Melanerita Martens, 1889

• Nerita atramentosa
  Nerita atramentosa
  Nerita atramentosa, common name the black nerite, is a medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Neritidae, the nerites....
  
  Reeve, 1855

Subgenus Nerita Linnaeus, 1758

• Nerita helicinoides Reeve, 1855
• Nerita picea Récluz, 1841
• Nerita tristis Pilsbry, 1901-b

Subgenus Ritena Gray, 1858

• Nerita balteata Reeve, 1855 : probably congeneric with Nerita articulata
• Nerita grossa Linnaeus, 1758
• Nerita reticulata Karsten, 1789

Subgenus Theliostyla Mörch, 1852

• Nerita exuvia
  Nerita exuvia
  Nerita exuvia, common name the "snakeskin nerite", is a medium-sized species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Neritidae, the nerites.- External links :* *...
  
  Linnaeus, 1758
• Nerita patula Récluz, 1841
• Nerita semirugosa Récluz, 1841

Further reading

• Récluz, C. 1841. Description de quelques nouvelles espèces de Nérites vivantes (2e partie, suite et fin). Revue Zoologique 4: 333-343
• Reeve, L. 1855. Monograph of the genus Nerita. Conchologia Iconica 9: pls. 1-19
• Frey M. A. & Vermeij G. J. (2008). "Molecular phylogenies and historical biogeography of a circumtropical group of gastropods (Genus: Nerita): implications for regional diversity patterns in the marine tropics". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
  Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by D.E. Wildman.-Indexing:The journal is indexed in:*EMBiology*Journal Citation Reports*Scopus*Web of Science...
  
  48(3):1067-1086. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.009
• Tan K. S. & Lee S. S. C. (April 2009) "Neritid egg capsules: are they all that different?" Steenstrupia 30(2): 115-125. Copenhagen, Denmark. ISSN 0375-2909. PDF