Tectura virginea
Encyclopedia
Tectura virginea is a species
of sea snail
, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family
Lottiidae
, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the white tortoiseshell limpet.
, the tortoiseshell limpet, growing to 15mm in length with a height of 6mm. The shell is white with purplish bands radiating from the apex. which is tilted forward and about a third of the way along the shell. The flesh is creamy coloured or pale pink. The broad foot is oval and the head bears a pair of long tentacles with tiny black eyes located near their base.
below low water mark down to a depth of about one hundred metres. It favours rock pools
and smooth rock covered with encrusting red algae such as Lithothamnion
on which it feeds.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk 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...
Lottiidae
Lottiidae
Lottiidae is a family of sea snails, specifically true limpets, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Lottioidea and the clade Patellogastropoda .- 2005 taxonomy :...
, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the white tortoiseshell limpet.
Description
T. virginea is rather smaller than Testudinalia testudinalisTestudinalia testudinalis
Testudinalia testudinalis is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Lottiidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is commonly known as the plant limpet or tortoiseshell limpet.-Description:...
, the tortoiseshell limpet, growing to 15mm in length with a height of 6mm. The shell is white with purplish bands radiating from the apex. which is tilted forward and about a third of the way along the shell. The flesh is creamy coloured or pale pink. The broad foot is oval and the head bears a pair of long tentacles with tiny black eyes located near their base.
Distribution and habitat
The white tortoiseshell limpet is found on the north west coasts of Europe from Norway south to the Mediterranean Sea including the North Sea. It lives in the neritic zoneNeritic zone
The neritic zone, also called coastal waters, the coastal ocean or the sublittoral zone, is the part of the ocean extending from the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf, with a relatively shallow depth extending to about 200 meters...
below low water mark down to a depth of about one hundred metres. It favours rock pools
Tide pool
Tide pools are rocky pools by oceans that are filled with seawater. Many of these pools exist as separate entities only at low tide.Tide pools are habitats of uniquely adaptable animals that have engaged the special attention of naturalists and marine biologists, as well as philosophical...
and smooth rock covered with encrusting red algae such as Lithothamnion
Lithothamnion
Lithothamnion is a genus of thalloid red alga comprising 103 species. Its members are known by a number of common names.Recorded common names are griuán, maërl, punalevä-suku, stenhinna and maerl. The monomerous, crustose thalli are composed of a single system of filaments which grow close to the...
on which it feeds.