Cenchritis muricatus

Species of gastropod

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

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]

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. ^ a b 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cenchritis muricatus.
  • 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
Taxon identifiers
Cenchritis muricatus
Turbo muricatus


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