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Triviella ovulata

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Triviella ovulata
A live individual of Triviella ovulata, head end towards the right
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Triviidae
Genus: Triviella
Species:
T. ovulata
Binomial name
Triviella ovulata
(Lamarck, 1810)
Synonyms

Trivia ovulata (Lamarck, 1811)

Triviella ovulata, common name baby's toes, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Triviidae, the trivias.

Distribution

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This snail is known around the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to Coffee Bay in depths of 8–30 m. This species is endemic to the area.[1]

Description

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Triviella ovulata has a plump, round, white to deep pink shell. In life the shell is usually completely covered with the white mantle, which is variably spotted with black.[2] It reaches a maximum size of 40 mm.

Ecology

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This snail is usually found among colonial ascidians, on which it feeds. The snail first drills a hole in the wall of the colony, then eats its fill and finally lays its capsule-shaped egg cases in the resulting cavity. The black-spotted form of this animal resembles Mandela's nudibranch, Mandelia mirocornata, which may cause fish predators to avoid it.

References

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  1. ^ LILTVED W.R. 2000. Cowries and their relatives of southern Africa ISBN 0-908420-89-7
  2. ^ BRANCH, G.M., BRANCH, M.L, GRIFFITHS, C.L. and BECKLEY, L.E (2005): Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa ISBN 0-86486-672-0