Cantharidus purpureus
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| Cantharidus purpureus | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Cantharidus purpureus (Gmelin, 1791) |
Cantharidus purpureus is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
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[edit] Distribution
This species is endemic to the North Island, and northern half of the South Island, of New Zealand.
[edit] Habitat
This top snail lives on brown seaweed in clear water, at low water and below.
[edit] Shell description
The shell is a tallish cone, with the surface densely and finely spirally lirate.
The external shell coloration is variable, greenish-grey to bright rose, sometimes with oblique longitudinal reddish streaks
The shell height is up to 32 mm, and the width is up to 20 mm.
[edit] References
- Powell A W B, New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Miller M & Batt G, Reef and Beach Life of New Zealand, William Collins (New Zealand) Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1973
- Glen Pownall, New Zealand Shells and Shellfish, Seven Seas Publishing Pty Ltd, Wellington, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 85467 054 8
