#periwinkle snails

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Identifying species can be an extremely difficult job for biologists-- especially when the animal in question has too few distinguishing features, or too many. Perhaps no species demonstrates this better than Littorina saxatilis, aka the rough periwinkle snail. Due to the extreme variations in shell shape, size, and color, this species has been misidentified by taxonomists 112 times! Even today, scientists are still in dispute over whether genetically distinct populations should be considered separate species.

(Image: Six rough periwinkle snails (Littorina saxatilis) by Sue Scott)

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Bonus: check out the list of L. saxatilis' former names below the cut!

Litorina groenlandica Menke, 1830

Litorina incarnata Philippi, 1846

Litorina marmorata L. Pfeiffer, 1839

Litorina sulcata Menke, 1830

Littorina castanea Deshayes in Deshayes & Milne Edwards, 1843

Littorina danieli Locard, 1886

Littorina groenlandica (Menke, 1830)

Littorina neglecta Bean, 1844

Littorina nervillei Dautzenberg, 1893

Littorina nervillei var. major Pallary in Seurat, 1924

Littorina nigrolineata Gray, 1839

Littorina palliata var. turritella Schlesch, 1916

Littorina rudis (Maton, 1797) (synonym)

Littorina rudis f. elatior Middendorff, 1849

Littorina rudis var. albida Dautzenberg, 1887

Littorina rudis var. alticola Dacie, 1917

Littorina rudis var. aurantia Dautzenberg, 1887

Littorina rudis var. brevis Dautzenberg, 1887

Littorina rudis var. conoidea Schlesch, 1916

Littorina rudis var. fasciata Dautzenberg, 1887

Littorina rudis var. finmarchia Herzenstein, 1885

Littorina rudis var. globosa Jeffreys, 1865

Littorina rudis var. globosa Martel, 1901

Littorina rudis var. laevis Jeffreys, 1865

Littorina rudis var. major Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina rudis var. rubescens Monterosato, 1878

Littorina rudis var. scotia S.M. Smith, 1979

Littorina rudis var. similis Jeffreys, 1865

Littorina rudis var. sulcata Martel, 1901

Littorina rudis var. tenebrosapallida L.E. Adams, 1896

Littorina rudis var. tessellata Dautzenberg, 1893

Littorina saxatile La Roque, 1953

Littorina saxatile saxatile La Roque, 1953

Littorina saxatilis Johnston, 1842

Littorina saxatilis f. abbreviata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis f. conoidea Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis f. elongata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis f. minor Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis groenlandica (Menke, 1830)

Littorina saxatilis groenlandica var. sculpta Schlesch, 1931

Littorina saxatilis jugosa Montagu, 1803

Littorina saxatilis jugosa var. bynei Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis jugosa var. tenuis James, 1968

Littorina saxatilis nigrolineata Gray, 1839

Littorina saxatilis rudis (Maton, 1797)

Littorina saxatilis rudis var. rudissimoides James, 1968

Littorina saxatilis scotia Graham, 1988

Littorina saxatilis tenebrosa (Montagu, 1803)

Littorina saxatilis tenebrosa var. biinterrupta Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1963

Littorina saxatilis tenebrosa var. bizonaria James, 1963

Littorina saxatilis tenebrosa var. elata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis tenebrosa var. maculata Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1963

Littorina saxatilis var. clarilineata Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1971

Littorina saxatilis var. flammulata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis var. fulva Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis var. fusca Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis var. gascae Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1971

Littorina saxatilis var. groenlandica (Menke, 1830)

Littorina saxatilis var. hieroglyphica Fischer-Piette, Gaillard & Jouin, 1961

Littorina saxatilis var. interrupta Fischer-Piette, Gaillard & Jouin, 1961

Littorina saxatilis var. lagunae Barnes, 1993

Littorina saxatilis var. lineata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis var. lugubris Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis var. nigra Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1971

Littorina saxatilis var. nojensis Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1964

Littorina saxatilis var. rubra Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1971

Littorina saxatilis var. rubrolineata Fischer-Piette, Gaillard & Delmas, 1967

Littorina saxatilis var. salvati Fischer-Piette, Gaillard & Delmas, 1967

Littorina saxatilis var. sanguinea Coen, 1933

Littorina saxatilis var. sellensis Fischer-Piette & Gaillard, 1964

Littorina saxatilis var. tractibus Fischer-Piette, Gaillard & Jouin, 1961

Littorina saxatilis var. trifasciata Dautzenberg & P. Fisher, 1912

Littorina saxatilis zonata Daniel, 1883

Littorina saxoides Nardo, 1847

Littorina simplex Reeve, 1857

Littorina tenebrosa (Montagu, 1803)

Littorina tenebrosa f. elatior Middendorff, 1849

Littorina tenebrosa var. costulata Middendorff, 1849

Littorina tenebrosa var. densecostulata Middendorff, 1849

Littorina tenebrosa var. grisolacteus Middendorff, 1849

Littorina tenebrosa var. intermedia Forbes & Hanley, 1850

Littorina tenebrosa var. rubidus Middendorff, 1849

Littorina tenebrosa var. tessellatus Middendorff, 1849

Littorina tenebrosa var. zonatus Middendorff, 1849

Littorina zonaria Bean, 1844

Nerita rustica Nardo, 1847

Turbo obligatus Say, 1822

Turbo rudis Maton, 1797

Turbo rudissimus Johnston, 1842

[rattyexplores]

Abundant Perrywinkle.

14/10/23 - Echinolittorina sp.

QLD:WET - Garner's Beach

[bethanythebogwitch]

Went tidepooling and found some critters!

Periwinkles are easily the most common animals there. They cover the rocks so much you can't tell what's rock and what's snail.

Wee little winkles, all in a row

Periwinkle with a passenger

Illegally small crab

Couple o' them thar hermity crabs

Jeez, cant two snails have their snail sex (snex) in peace without someone showing up to bother them?

I don't know what this is. It was covered in slime. Maybe an egg mass, sponge, or some kind of colonial animal.

I also don't know what these are. They were squishy so I was thinking maybe an egg mass or retracted anemones

Mollusk on the move

This lad was missing both claws and a leg. He was presumably hiding in the kelp while waiting for them to regrow

Little limpet

One-armed crab mama with her clutch of eggs

I also saw shrimp and isopods, but they were too fast to get a picture of

[shadyufo]

snail party

[druidofsuburbs]

Come out little beach friends!

[lunarlotuscove]

Tiny blue guys

Sunday, August 18th 2024 924 p.m.

[crudlynaturephotos]

[today-i-am-thinking-about]

the color periwinkle

[chaoscorvus]

BREAKING NEWS THERE ARE SEA SNAILS THAT CAN FARM FUNGI

[mintypipefish]

Seawinkle

Water type

Ability: Torrent (Powers up Water-type moves when the Pokémon's HP is low)

Dreamworld Ability: Dazzling (Surprises the opposing Pokémon, making it unable to attack using priority moves.)

Dream Entry: When cornered, Seawinkle will create a strobe light effect with their bulbs, confusing and frightening the predator for a moment, and then it makes its escape. It is much faster in the water than on land.

Chaos Entry: It communicates with others by flickering the bulbs on its shell. Scientists have discovered it knows Morse code, but aren’t sure if it learned it from humans or if it originated it.

Additional Data: At night, these Pokémon illuminate seashores with the constant flickering of their shells, which attracts dozens of people to watch. If they sense someone has stepped into the water, they will stop their lights and hide right away. Seawinkle also put predators in a trance-like state by rapidly flashing their lights as fast as possible, and will flee the moment they get a chance.

—

Meet your Water starter!

Art by me (@frisbys-artwork)

Cry by Justin Page

[fuckingrecipes]

Wait, which animals raise livestock?

Several species of ants will 'herd' aphids around (a type of plant lice)- even picking them up and putting them back with the group if they wander off. The ants will attack anything that approaches their aphid herds, defending them. The aphids produce a sugary excretion called honeydew, which the ants harvest and eat.

Some ants will even 'milk' the aphids, stroking the aphids with their antennae, to stimulate them to release honeydew. Some aphids have become 'domesticated' by the ants, and depend entirely on their caretaker ants to milk them.

When the host plant is depleted of resources and dies, the ants will pick up their herd of aphids and carry them to a new plant to feed on - a new 'pasture' if you will.

Some ants continue to care for aphids overwinter, when otherwise they'd die. The ants carry aphid eggs into their own nests, and will even go out of their way to destroy the eggs of aphid-predators, like ladybugs.

--

Microhylids – or narrow-mouthed frogs - have an interesting symbiosis with Tarantulas.

While the spiders could very easily kill and eat the much-tinier frogs, and DO normally prey on small frogs, young spiders instead will use their mouthparts to pick up the microhylid frogs, bring them back to their burrow, and release them unharmed.

The frog benefits from hanging out in/around the burrow of the tarantula, because the tarantula can scare away or eat predators that normally prey on tiny frogs, like snakes, geckos, and mantids. The tarantula gets a babysitter.

Microhylid frogs specialize in eating ants, and ants are one of the major predators of spider eggs. By eating ants, the frogs protect the spider's eggs. The frogs can also lay their eggs in the burrow, and won't be eaten by the spider.

So it's less 'livestock' and more like a housepet - a dog or a cat. You stop coyotes/eagles from hurting your little dog/cat, and in return the dog/cat keeps rats away from your baby.

--

Damselfish grow algae on rocks and corals. They defend these gardens ferociously, and will attack anything that comes too close - even humans. They spend much of their time weeding the gardens, removing unwanted algaes that might overtake their crop.

The species of algae that they cultivate is weak and and sensitive to growing conditions, and can easily be overgrazed by other herbivores. That particular algae tends to grow poorly in areas where damselfish aren't around to protect and farm it.

Damselfish will ALSO actively protect Mysidium integrum (little shrimp-like crustacians) in their reef farms, despite eating other similarly sized invertebrates. The mysids are filter feeders, who feed on zooplankton and free-floating algae, and their waste fertilizes the algae farms. Many types of zooplankton can feed on the algae crop, and the mysids prevent that.

While Mysids can be found around the world, the only place you'll find swarms of Musidium integrum is on the algae farms that Damselfish cultivate.

Damselfish treat the little mysids like some homesteaders treat ducks. Ducks eat snails and other insect pests on our crops, and their poop fertilizes the land. The ducks can be eaten, but aren't often, since they're more useful for their services than their meat.

--

There are SEVERAL species of insect and animal which actively farm. They perform fungiculture and horticulture: deliberately growing and harvesting fungus and plants at a large-scale to feed their population.

Leaf-cutter ants and Termites both chew up plant material and then seed it with a specific type of fungus. The fungus grows, and the termites/ants harvest the mushroom as a food source.

Ambrosia beetles burrow into decaying trees, hollow out little farming rooms, and introduce a specific fungii (the ambrosia fungi), which both adults and larval beetles feed on.

Marsh Periwinkles (a type of snail) cultivates fungus on cordgrass. They wound the plant with their scraping tongue, then defecate into the wound so their preferred fungus will infect it and grow there. They let the fungus grow in the wound a bit, and come back later to eat.

[rattyexplores]

Caenogastropoda: Epitonium tenellum

Caenogastropoda: Bembicium auratum

Caenogastropoda: Conuber sp.

Shells collected off of a small beach.

09/09/23

QLD:BRB - Clairview, beach

[whatnext10]

Cedar Key Isn’t Just About Beautiful Birds

Helical Not too long ago, I went out to Cedar Key in search of white pelicans. I had no luck in that department, but I did see plenty of other beautiful birds, including several of our other winter visitors. Although Cedar Key is always a great place to see birds, it’s also a great place to see all sorts of other interesting nature, too. In past trips I’ve found flowers, spiders, butterflies,…

[bethanythebogwitch]

A nice habitat for periwinkles. A peri-dise, if you will

[capecodartandnature]

Periwinkles are pretty chill #capecod #sealife #periwinkle #snail #mollusk https://www.instagram.com/p/CrbwWGHvkFG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[druidofsuburbs]

Enjoy the cool water of the tide running out