Puperita pupa

Puperita pupa is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.[1]

Puperita pupa
Puperita pupa: A. ventral view, B. dorsal view; C. Operculum external view; D. Operculum internal view. E. detail of the color standard.
Four Shells of Puperita pupa showing color variation, one showing the ventral side and on the lower left, an operculum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Neritimorpha
clade Cycloneritimorpha
Superfamily:
Neritoidea
Family:
Neritidae
Genus:
Puperita
Species:
P. pupa
Binomial name
Puperita pupa
(Linnaeus, 1767)

Description

The shell is thin but strong, globular, not presenting a prominent spire. There are 2 to 3 whorls, the outer lip is thin and sharp, the columellar area is polished and has a broad wall. The largest known specimens reach 10.6 mm. Th shell coloration is variable but is characterized by axial bands of black and white like a zebra. The opening is gray with an ocher-colored parietal callus area, and the operculum is bright yellow [2][3]

Distribution

Puperita pupa is a nerite that is widely distributed in the area of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

This species occurs in brackish water on the West Indian island of Dominica.[5]

References
  1. Puperita pupa (Linnaeus, 1767). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 5 May 2010.
  2. Aboott, R. Tucker. 1954: “American Seashells”. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc, Toronto – Canadá. 541p.
  3. Morris, Percy A. 1973: “A field guide to shells of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the West Indies”. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston EE.UU. 330p
  4. Baker, H. Burrington. 1923: “The mollusca collected by the University of Michigan-Willianson expedition in Venezuela”. Occasional Paper of the Museum of Zoology. University of Michigan, 152:1-159.
  5. (in German) Starmühlner F. von (1988). "Ergebnisse der Österreichisch-Französischen Hydrobiologischen Mission 1979 nach Guadeloupe, Dominica und Martinique (Kleine Antillen). Teil II: Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Süß- und Brackwassermollusken von Guadeloupe, Dominica und Martinique". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien Serie B, 90: 221-340. PDF.

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