Cantharidus purpureus

Cantharidus purpureus, common name the red opal top shell, is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Trochidae.[1]

Cantharidus purpureus
Apertural view of a shell of Cantharidus purpureus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
(unranked):
Superfamily:
Family:
Subfamily:
Genus:
Species:
C. purpureus
Binomial name
Cantharidus purpureus

Description

The length of the shell varies between 16 mm and 32 mm. It grazes on seaweed.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off North Island and South Island, New Zealand.

References

  1. Rosenberg, G. (2012). Cantharidus purpureus (Gmelin, 1791). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=598222 on 2012-11-27
  • "Cantharidus purpureus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.

Further reading

  • Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, p. 55; William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  • Marshall, B.A. 1998: The New Zealand Recent species of Cantharidus Montfort, 1810 and Micrelenchus Finlay, 1926 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Trochidae). Molluscan Research 19: 107-156 (p. 114)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.