Small Periwinkle Snail

Description:

It is a sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusca in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.This is a tiny species with the size of an adult shell varying between 4 mm - 9 mm. It has a high pointed spire. The dark aperture is oval. The purple-brown spiral band can be clearly seen on the body whorl. The small periwinkle breeds in late winter. Its pelagic egg capsules release plankton larvae.

Habitat:

This species is found in European waters from Norway down south, in the Atlantic Ocean along the Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Morocco, Mauritania; in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea.

Notes:

This species was previously known as Littorina neritoides. Melarhaphe is a monotypic genus, in other words, this is the only species in that genus.