''Persicula persicula'', common name : the spotted marginella, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of very 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 ...

, a 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 ...

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

micromollusk A micromollusc is a shelled mollusc which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine molluscs, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater molluscs also ...

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 ...

Cystiscidae Cystiscidae is a taxonomic family of small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks or micromollusks. Description The shell is minute to large, either white, uniformly colored, or patterned; the surface is smooth, sculptured, or axially costat ...

Description

The shell size varies between 13 mm and 25 mm

Distribution

This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

References

* Rolán E., 2005. ''Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda'' * Boyer F. (2015). Révision des marginelles de Linné (Mollusques prosobranches : Marginellidae et Cystiscidae). Xenophora Taxonomy. 8: 33-55

External links

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata

Link, D.H.F. (1807-1808). Beschreibung der Naturalien-Sammlung der Universität zu Rostock. Adlers Erben.

Schumacher, C. F. (1817). Essai d'un nouveau système des habitations des vers testacés. Schultz, Copenghagen. iv + 288 pp., 22 pls.
*

persicula ''Persicula'' is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic genus of minute to small predatory sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks. It includes several species which are micromollusks.Persicula Schumacher, 1817. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. ...

Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Invertebrates of West Africa Gastropods of Cape Verde Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cystiscidae-stub