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01 Littorina littorea
Juveniles, unlike adults, have spirally grooved shells and thin translucent body whorls which show the exterior markings within the aperture. The pure white columella (no tint of any other colour), often with a dark brown mark basally, differentiates L. littorea at all sizes from others in th…
02 Littorina littorea
The normal maximum shell height of L. littorea is about 30 mm. So this red specimen is a large one at 31.2 mm. Red ones are much less common than grey, brown or black ones in Europe, and they are absent from North America.
The brown and white specimen is a giant with a height of 50.3 mm. The …
03 Littorina littorea
Living L. littorea completely encased by specimens of, mainly, the antipodean invasive barnacle, Austrominius modestus. North Wirral coast, Cheshire, England. September 2011.
04 Littorina littorea
1: anterior of body with mantle peeled back to expose spirally coiled radula through translucent body wall.
2: body wall cut away to expose coiled radula within radular sac.:
3: pink buccal mass and uncoiled radula; length 45 mm, over twice as long as the 21 mm high shell.
Five …
05 Littorina littorea
Radula with radular sac removed to expose teeth clearly.
North Wirral coast, Cheshire, England. September 2016.
06 Littorina littorea
Height 6.2 mm. Juvenile from inside cavity of dead barnacle. Menai Strait, March 2011.
Inset at 2X main scale.
1: Patch of wrinkled periostracum. Usually so thin and closely adhering that it escapes notice on adults, and is frequently eroded off.
2: Periostracal fragments on thin, fluted, banded p…
07 Littorina littorea
Height 11.3mm. Red morph. Dee Estuary, Cheshire, England. 2014.
Shells of L. littorea are much less varied than those of other Littorina species in Britain. They are usually some dull shade of brown with darker, thin spiral lines. The shell above is of a highly distinctive red morph t…
08 Littorina littorea
Height 19.9mm. N. Wirral, Cheshire, England. June 2011.
Distinct transverse lines on cephalic tentacles distinguish L. littorea from other Littorina species in Britain, but on very young ones with weakly developed transverse lines the single longitudinal groove is sometimes black and…
09 Littorina littorea
Height 14.8 mm. N. Wirral, Cheshire, England. June 2011.
Distinct transverse “tiger” lines on body anterior and cephalic tentacles are diagnostic for adult Littorina littorea.
Right tentacle of animal partly withdrawn by introversion.
No full account yet of this species; more images of …
10 Littorina littorea
Height 3.1mm. Juvenile. N. Yorkshire, England. September 2014.
Early stage juvenile L. littorea; lacks much pigment on shell and body. Transverse black lines beginning to develop on snout, but marks on tentacles might be mistaken for longitudinal dorso-lateral line found on L. saxatilis</…
11 Littorina littorea
Heights 2 – 8.9 mm. Juveniles. N. Yorkshire, England. September 2014.
Group of juveniles found under single stone in brackish water of stream crossing lower shore. All have dark patch where thin, fluted, banded palatal lip adjoins pure white columellar lip.
No full account yet of this species.
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12 Littorina littorea
Heights 2 – 8.9mm. Juveniles. N. Yorkshire, England. September 2014.
Group of juveniles found under single stone in brackish water of stream crossing lower shore. Shells darken and nigrolineate appearance diminishes as they grow.
No full account yet of this species.
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13 Littorina littorea
Habitat. N. Wirral, Cheshire, England. June 2011.
L. littorea is common on these stones. It is able to crawl across and feed on the intervening mud and sand, but needs the stones as a stable refuge when covered by the tide. Apart from L. saxatilis s.s. on the vertical sea wall, and <i…