Cenchritis muricatus

Cenchritis muricatus is a species of sea snail in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. It occurs in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Lesser Antilles.[1] It is known commonly as the beaded periwinkle.[2]

Cenchritis muricatus
Five views of a shell of Cenchritis muricatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Littorinoidea
Family:	Littorinidae
Genus:	Cenchritis
Species:	C. muricatus
Binomial name
Cenchritis muricatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Tectarius muricatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Trochus muricatus Linnaeus, 1758 Turbo muricatus Linnaeus, 1758

This snail often crawls out of the water and climbs vertical rocky cliffs to heights of over 14 meters, where it avoids desiccation and overheating by hiding in moist crevices.[3]

References

1. Reid, D. G. (2014). Cenchritis muricatus (Linnaeus, 1758). World Register of Marine Species. Accessed 2 September 2014.
2. Díaz-Ferguson, E., et al. (2012). Genetic structure and connectivity patterns of two Caribbean rocky-intertidal gastropods. Journal of Molluscan Studies 78(1) 112-18.
3. Judge, M. L., et al. (2009). Life in the supralittoral fringe: Microhabitat choice, mobility and growth in the tropical periwinkle Cenchritis (=Tectarius) muricatus (Linneaus [sic], 1758). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 369(2) 148–54.

Further reading

• Reid, D. G. (1989a). The comparative morphology, phylogeny and evolution of the gastropod family Littorinidae. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B 324: 1–110.
• Rosenberg, G., et al. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D. L. and D. K. Camp (eds.). Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.

Cenchritis muricatus (beaded periwinkle snails), grazing in the supratidal rocky shore zone, San Salvador Island, Bahamas