Ecrobia ventrosa

Ecrobia ventrosa
	A shell of Ecrobia ventrosa.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda; clade Hypsogastropoda; clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Rissooidea
Family:	Hydrobiidae
Genus:	Ecrobia
Species:	E. ventrosa
Binomial name
	Ecrobia ventrosa; (Montagu), 1803
Synonyms
	Ventrosia ventrosa (Montagu, 1803); Hydrobia acuta auct.non Draparnaud, 1805; Hydrobia ventrosa (Montagu, 1803);

Ecrobia ventrosa, common name : the spire snail, is a European species of small brackish water snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Hydrobiidae.^[2]

Distribution

This species occurs on the coasts of:

Iceland
Norway
Great Britain
Ireland
France
Baltic Sea
Black Sea

The distribution type is coastal Mediterranean-Atlantic

Description

For terms see gastropod shell

The 3-4 x 1.5-2 mm. shell has 5-7 convex whorls which are slightly more convex than those of Hydrobia acuta neglecta. Smaller shells with 5 whorls are slightly less slender than those of Hydrobia neglecta. The suture is deep. The aperture is rounded upside (or only slightly pointed) and attached to the last whorl. The lip is weakly developed.The shell is very finely striated and in colour translucent, glossy yellow-brown, usually hidden by a matt deposit.

Certain identification requires dissecton. The penis has a pointed tip, not a blunt tip as in Hydrobia acuta neglecta.

References

^ Montagu G. (1803). Testacea Britannica, or natural history of British shells, marine, land, and fresh-water, including the most minute: systematically arranged and embellished with figures. pp. i-xxxvii [= 1-37], [1-2], 1-606, [1-4], Pl. 1-16. London.
^ ^a ^b WoRMS (2010). Ecrobia ventrosa (Montagu, 1803). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=238104 on 14 June 2011

de Kluijver, M.J.; Ingalsuo, S.S.; de Bruyne, R.H. (2000). Macrobenthos of the North Sea [CD-ROM]: 1. Keys to Mollusca and Brachiopoda. World Biodiversity Database CD-ROM Series. Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification (ETI): Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ISBN 3-540-14706-3. 1 cd-rom pp
Rolán E., 2005. Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda.

External links

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[1] Montagu G. (1803). Testacea Britannica, or natural history of British shells, marine, land, and fresh-water, including the most minute: systematically arranged and embellished with figures. pp. i-xxxvii [= 1-37], [1-2], 1-606, [1-4], Pl. 1-16. London.

[WoRMS_2010-2] WoRMS (2010). Ecrobia ventrosa (Montagu, 1803). In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=238104 on 14 June 2011

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