Diloma subrostrata subrostrata

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diloma subrostrata subrostrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Prosobranchia
Order: Archaeogastropoda
Superfamily: Trochacea
Family: Trochidae
Genus: Diloma
Species: D. subrostrata
Subspecies: D. subrostrata subrostrata
Trinomial name
Diloma subrostrata subrostrata
(Gray, 1835)
Synonyms

Monodonta subrostrata Gray, 1835
Labio corrosa A. Adams, 1853
Chlorostoma undulosum A. Adams, 1853
Trochus attritus Hombron, and Jacquinot, 1854
Labio hectori Hutton, 1873
Diloma plumbera Hutton, 1882

Diloma subrostrata subrostrata, or the mudflat top shell, is a subspecies of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, in the family Trochidae, the top snails.

Contents

[edit] Distribution

This top shell is endemic to New Zealand. Found regularly in the Pauatahanui Inlet, north of Wellington.

[edit] Habitat

This subspecies lives on mudflats, but prefers a more solid substrate such as shells, stones, or even old car tyres.

[edit] Life habits

This top snail feeds on the film of microscopic algae on top of the mud, and it scrapes this up with its radula.

[edit] Shell description

The shell of this subspecies of top snail is very variable in size, sculpture, and colour pattern, but all specimens have a bright yellow margin to the outer lip, and this may have a continuous inner dark band, or the band may be broken up into a few irregular blotches.

Undamaged specimens are sculptured with sharply raised narrow spiral cords, five on the penultimate and about six on the base; the colour pattern is of closely spaced narrow zigzag dark purplish-brown axial stripes upon a yellowish-drab ground.

The maximum shell height is 32 mm, and maximum width is 29 mm.

[edit] Description of the soft parts

The body colour of the animal is a base of yellowish-green, with black pigment on the top of the head and on the eye stalks.

[edit] References