''Littorina'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of small

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s, marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, commonly known as periwinkles and found worldwide. Names In English-speaking countries, gastropod molluscs from ...

, the winkles or periwinkles.WoRMS (2011). Littorina Férussac, 1822. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138135 on 2011-04-15 These small

snails A snail is a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gas ...

live in the

tidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various sp ...

of rocky shores.

Overview

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

there are about nine species in this genus, one of which is the rough periwinkle, ''

Littorina saxatilis ''Littorina saxatilis'', common name the rough periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. First identified in the 1700s, it has been misidentifie ...

'' (Olivi, 1792). Another closely related (supposed) species ''Littorina tenebrosa'' (Montagu 1802) was thought to be distinct because of its different ecological requirements, but current studies have shown that it is not at all clear whether the two are indeed separate species or whether ''L. tenebrosa'' is perhaps merely an ecotype (an ecological form) of ''L. saxatilis''.Gosling, E.M. (2002). ''The periwinkle as a model in biodiversity studies: a geneticist's view.'' in Marine Biodiversity in Ireland and Adjacent Waters. Ulster Museum. publication no. 8 ''Littorina'' has given its name to the

Littorina Sea Littorina Sea (also Litorina Sea) is a geological brackish water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 8500–4000 Before Present, BP and followed the Mastogloia Sea (initial Littorina Sea), a transitional stage from the Ancylus Lake. ...

, the geologic precursor of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

Distribution

The periwinkles are found on the seashore in the

littoral zone The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely flood ...

and

sublittoral zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

in all parts of the world. In the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

they live within the influence of freshwater, and frequently become distorted in consequence.

Description

The thick, pointed shell is turbinated and has few

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagram ...

. The

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

is rounded. The outer lip is acute. The

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

is rather flattened and imperforate. The operculum is paucispiral. The lingual teeth are hooked and trilobed. The uncini (small teeth on the

radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

) are hooked and dentated.

Species

The type species:''Turbo littoreus''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

restricts the species in this genus to the northern hemisphere, moderate and cold zones. The tropical species belong in other genera of the same family Bandel, K. & D. Kadolsky (1982). Western Atlantic Species of Nodolittorina (Gastropda: Prosobranchia): comparative morphology and its functional, ecological, phylogenetic and taxonomic implications. Veliger 25 (1): 1-42. Species in the genus ''Littorina'' include * ''

Littorina aleutica ''Littorina aleutica'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, comm ...

'' Dall, 1872 * ''

Littorina arcana ''Littorina arcana'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, common ...

'' Hannaford-Ellis, 1978 * ''

Littorina brevicula ''Littorina brevicula'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, com ...

'' (Philippi, 1844) * ''

Littorina compressa ''Littorina compressa'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, com ...

'' Jeffreys, 1865 * ''

Littorina fabalis ''Littorina fabalis'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. Description The maximum recorded shell length is 1.8 cm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep- ...

'' (Turton, 1825) * '' Littorina horikawai'' Matsubayashi & Habe in Habe, 1979 * '' Littorina islandica'' Reid, 1996

† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ...

* '' Littorina kasatka'' Reid, Zaslavskaya & Sergievsky, 1991 * '' Littorina keenae'' Rosewater, 1978 * ''

Littorina littorea The common periwinkle or winkle (''Littorina littorea'') is a species of small edible whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles. This is a ...

'' (

Common periwinkle The common periwinkle or winkle (''Littorina littorea'') is a species of small edible whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles. This is a ...

* '' Littorina mandshurica'' (Schrenk, 1861) * '' Littorina natica'' Reid, 1996 * '' Littorina obtusata'' (

), flat periwinkle * '' Littorina petricola'' Arnold, 1908

* '' Littorina plena'' Gould, 1849 * '' Littorina remondii'' Gabb, 1866

* ''

'' (Olivi, 1792),

rough periwinkle ''Littorina saxatilis'', common name the rough periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. First identified in the 1700s, it has been misidentified as a new spe ...

* '' Littorina scutulata'' Gould, 1849, checkered periwinkle * '' Littorina sitkana'' Philippi, 1846 * '' Littorina sookensis'' Clark & Arnold, 1923

*'' Littorina squalida'' Broderip & Sowerby, 1829 * '' Littorina subrotundata'' (Carpenter, 1864) * '' Littorina varia'' * '' Littorina zebra'' ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Littorina aestuarii'' Jeffreys, 1865: synonym of ''Littorina obtusata'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Littorina affinis'' d'Orbigny, 1839: synonym of '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) * ''Littorina angulifera'' is a synonym for ''

Littoraria angulifera ''Littoraria angulifera'' or the mangrove periwinkle is a species of sea snail, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Littoraria angulifera (Lamarck, 1822). Acce ...

'' (Lamarck, 1822) * ''Littorina arenica'' Jay, 1839: synonym of '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) * ''Litorina arenica'' Dunker, 1845: synonym of '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) * ''Littorina canariensis'' d'Orbigny, 1839: synonym of '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) * ''Littorina cingulifera'' R. W. Dunker, 1845: synonym of '' Littoraria cingulifera'' R. W. Dunker, 1845 * ''Litorina globosa'' Dunker, 1845: synonym of '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) *'' Littorina granularis'' Gray, 1839: synonym of '' Echinolittorina miliaris'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833) * ''Littorina lamellosa'' Souverbie, 1861: synonym of '' Fossarus lamellosus'' (Souverbie, 1861) * ''Littorina marnat'' Potiez & Michaud, 1838: synonym of ''

Echinolittorina punctata ''Echinolittorina punctata'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, ...

'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Littorina obesa'' (G.B. Sowerby, 1832): synonym of ''

Littoraria coccinea ''Littoraria coccinea'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a taxonomic family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, comm ...

'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Littorina petraeus'' (Montagu, 1803): synonym of ''

Melarhaphe neritoides ''Melarhaphe neritoides'', common name : the small periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles. This species was previously known as ''Littorina neritoides''. ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Littorina planaxis'' G.B. Sowerby I, 1844: synonym of '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) * ''Littorina saxatilis jugosa'' Montagu, 1803: synonym of ''Littorina saxatilis'' (Olivi, 1792) * ''Littorina saxatilis nigrolineata'' Gray, 1839: synonym of ''Littorina saxatilis'' (Olivi, 1792) * ''Littorina striata'' is a synonym for '' Tectarius striatus'' (King & Broderip, 1832) * ''Littorina undulata'' Gray, 1839: synonym of '' Littoraria undulata'' (Gray, 1839) * ''Littorina unifasciata antipodum'': synonym of ''

Austrolittorina antipodum ''Austrolittorina antipodum'', known as the banded periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod in the winkles and periwinkles family, Littorinidae. It occurs in New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in t ...

'' (Philippi, 1847) * ''Littorina ziczac'' is a synonym for ''

Echinolittorina ziczac ''Echinolittorina ziczac'', previously known as ''Littorina ziczac'', common name the "zebra periwinkle", is a species of small sea snail, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc in the family Littorinidae. This species lives in the tropical ...

'' (Gmelin, 1791) * ''Littorina zonaria'' Bean, 1844: synonym of ''Littorina saxatilis'' (Olivi, 1792)

References

* Reid D.G. (1996). ''Systematics and evolution of Littorina''. The Ray Society 463p {{Authority control Gastropod genera Littorinidae