Species Description
This is a selection of several various snail species found at the research site.
Acanthina angelica
� Angelic tooth snail �
characterized by a conch-like shape to its shell with axial ribs and spiral ridges. Another distinguishing feature is the spine along the lip of the shell.
http://www.gastropods.com/0/Shell_20490.html
Cerithium maculosum
� Speckled Cerith �
characterized by a long, spiral shell and the color of its shell, which is light, covered in dark spots, in a very precise arrangement with equal spacing.
http://www.gastropods.com/5/Shell_20425.html
Cerithium stercusmuscarum
� Fly-speck Cerith �
has a similar shape to the speckled cerith, with the main difference being color. The coloration is reversed from the speckled cerith with a dark shell spotted with white markings in the same arrangement as the speckled cerith.
http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_5614.html
Nerita scabracosta
� Nerita �
characterized by a dark shell in a spiral shape, almost like a helmet, spiraling in a flat spiral around itself like a spiral, very distinct from the conch-like spiral favored by the cerith and angelic tooth snails. It is smooth and has a pattern in lighter color on the shell.
http://www.gastropods.com/7/Shell_2477.html
Olivella dama
� Olive snail �
the olive is very smooth and is brown with spots of white.
http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_2282.html
Tegula mariana
� Top �
spiral but it protrudes slightly closer to a conch than the nerita. The main distinguishing feature is the small hole �bellybutton� in the underside of the shell and the light blue coloration around this area.
http://www.gastropods.com/9/Shell_1779.html
Turbo fluctuosus
� Turban �
It has a protroduing spiral shell with an iridescent interior. It is similar to the top but lacks the blue coloration and �bellybutton� hole.
http://www.gastropods.com/3/Shell_2443.html
Morula ferruginosa
� Morula �
small with a dark coloration, usually ranging from dark greenish to purple to black. It is a shape similar to the cerith or angelic (the lip spine is not present) but does not have any distinguishing markings.
http://www.shelltrips.com/Guaymas/pics.html
Clibinarius digueti
� Red-fingered hermit crab �
a black crab with red tips on the end of its claws. Fairly easy to distinguish as it was the only crab within the study. No other hermit species were found. Shell color varied depending on snail shell species.
Images from:
Hardy's Internet Gastropods
Shelltrips