Triviella ovulata, common name baby's toes, is a species

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 small sea snail

Sea snail

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

, a 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 mollusc 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...

 Triviidae

Triviidae

Triviidae is a taxonomic family of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha.-Taxonomy:The following subfamilies were recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi in 2005:*Eratoinae Gill, 1871**tribe Eratoini Gill, 1871...

, the trivias.

Distribution

This snail is known around the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to Coffee Bay in 8-30 m. It is endemic.

Description

Triviella ovulata has a plump round white to deep pink shell, which is usually completely covered with the white mantle, which is variably spotted with black. It reaches a maximum size of 40 mm.

Ecology

This snail is usually found among colonial ascidians, on which it feeds. The snail first drills a hole in the wall of the colony, then eats its fill and finally lays its capsule-shaped egg cases in the resulting cavity. The black-spotted form of this animal resembles Mandela's nudibranch

Mandela's nudibranch

Mandela's nudibranch, Mandelia mirocornata, is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Mandeliidae.-Distribution:...

, Mandelia mirocornata, which may cause fish predators to avoid it.