Steromphala pennanti (Philippi 1846)

Steromphala pennanti is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Trochidae, the top snails.^[1]

The species was named in honor of Thomas Pennant (1726 – 1798), a Welsh naturalist.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 10 mm and 16 mm. The shell is more depressed than Gibbula cineraria, and (although the base is flatter) never inclined to a pyramidal form. The spiral ridges are sharper and fewer, especially in the young. The present species is usually more widely umbilicate and broader than Gibbula cineraria. The coloring is different; both have a similar kind of marking, but in the present species the longitudinal rays or streaks are red, besides being broader and not half so many as in the other species. And they are sometimes zigzag, instead of being broken into spots or interrupted by the sculpture. This species is striped, the other lineated. Just within the outer lip are two borders, one of yellow, the other of green variegated by red spots. This edging is minutely tubercled like shagreen.^[2]

Distribution

This species occurs in the North Sea and off Spain.

References

• Gmelin J. F., 1791: Caroli Linnaei systema Naturae per regna tria naturae. Editio decimatertia, aucta, reformata, Vermes Testacea ; Leipzig [Lipsiae] 1 (6): 3021-3910
• Lowe, R. T. (1861). A list of shells observed or collected at Mogador and in its immediate environs, during a few days' visit to the place, in April 1859. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1860: 169-204 ["1860"]. London.
• Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213

Gibbula pennanti é uma espécie de molusco pertencente à família Trochidae.

A autoridade científica da espécie é Philippi, tendo sido descrita no ano de 1846.

Trata-se de uma espécie presente no território português, incluindo a zona económica exclusiva.

Referências

• Gibbula pennanti - World Register of Marine Species (consultado em 29 de dezembro de 2013).