''Vitta virginea'', the Virgin Nerite, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Neritidae Neritidae, common name the nerites, is a taxonomic family of small to medium-sized saltwater and freshwater snails which have a gill and a distinctive operculum. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Neritininae Poey, 1852. Accessed through: ...

Distribution

This species is widespread from the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

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West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, Greater and

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

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Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Central America (

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Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

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and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Starmühlner F. von (1988). "Ergebnisse der Österreichisch-Französischen Hydrobiologischen Mission 1979 nach Guadeloupe, Dominica und Martinique (Kleine Antillen). Teil II: Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Süß- und Brackwassermollusken von Guadeloupe, Dominica und Martinique". ''Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien'' Serie B
90
221–340
PDF

Habitat

''Vitta virginea'' can withstand large changes in salinity and therefore may live in freshwaters, in marine and in brackish waters. These sea snails occur in rivers and streams, in estuaries and in the sea, on sand, silt and stones, brackish ponds and mangroves. Neritidae - Neritina virginea

Description

Shells of ''Vitta virginea'' can reach an average size of . These colorful grass-flat snails show extremely variable pattern and color. They are semiglobular, with 3 or 4 whorls. The aperture is oval, with thin lips. Operculum is usually black. The polished shell surface may be black, grey or white, yellowish, olive, red and purple, with various stripes or waves, spots and lines.

Biology

They are herbivorous (algae) and

diadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

. They are involved in massive upstream migrations.JUAN F. BLANCO AND FREDERICK N. SCATEN
Floods, Habitat Hydraulics and Upstream Migration of Neritina virginea (Gastropoda: Neritidae) in Northeastern Puerto Rico
/ref> Neritina virginea (Linné, 1758) (8577779994)

Neritina virginea (Linné, 1758) (8577779994)

References

Bibliography

*Blanco-Libreros JF, Arroyave-Rincón A. - Predator damage and shell size on the diadromous snail Neritina virginea (Gastropoda: Neritidae) in the Mameyes River, Puerto Rico *Cordeiro, J. & Perez, K. 2012. Neritina virginea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T189436A1925495. *Pointier J.P. (ed.). (2015). Freshwater molluscs of Venezuela and their medical and veterinary importance. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 228 pp *Turgeon, D. D., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, W. K. Emerson, W. G. Lyons, W. Pratt, et al. (1988) Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: mollusks, American Fisheries Society Special Publication 16 *Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, et al. (1998) Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks, 2nd ed., American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26 * Eichhorst T.E. (2016). Neritidae of the world. Volume 2. Harxheim: Conchbooks. Pp. 696-1366

External links

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition
vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae]
Link, D.H.F. (1807-1808). Beschreibung der Naturalien-Sammlung der Universität zu Rostock. Adlers Erben.

Röding, P.F. (1798). Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturæ quæ olim collegerat Joa. Fried Bolten, M. D. p. d. per XL. annos proto physicus Hamburgensis. Pars secunda continens Conchylia sive Testacea univalvia, bivalvia & multivalvia. Trapp, Hamburg. viii, 199 pp.

Mörch, O. A. L. (1852-1853). Catalogus conchyliorum quae reliquit D. Alphonso d'Aguirra & Gadea Comes de Yoldi, Regis Daniae Cubiculariorum Princeps, Ordinis Dannebrogici in Prima Classe & Ordinis Caroli Tertii Eques. Fasc. 1, Cephalophora, 170 pp.

conchyliologica 57.pdf Hovestadt A. & Neckheim C. M. (2020). A critical checklist of the non-marine molluscs of St. Martin, with notes on the terrestrial malacofauna of Anguilla and Saint-Barthélemy, and the description of a new subspecies. Folia Conchyliologica. 57: 1-38.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitta Virginea Neritidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus