More than 2200 species of the wild flora and fauna photographed in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico and the surrounding area.
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Molluscs of Zihuatanejo
PHYLUM MOLLUSCA
Echinolittorina aspera
-Gastropods (Class Gastropoda)
-Caenogastropods (Subclass Caenogastropoda)
-Order Littorinimorpha
-Periwinkle Snails and Allies (Superfamily Littorinoidea)
-Periwinkle Snails (Family Littorinidae)
-Subfamily Littorininae
-Genus Echinolittorina
At low tide, Periwinkles are usually wedged into crevices and cracks in rocks and even inside the empty shells of dead oysters and barnacles. Small but resilient snails, periwinkles can breathe air so they are among the most common snails seen on the rocks above the high tide line. Periwinkles graze on tiny algae growing as a film over the rocks. Once a year, males find a female for mating. Females lay their eggs in a mucus bundle in tide pools. The larvae hatch and are washed out to sea to grow.
Description
• Echinolittorina aspera is a small marine periwinkle snail in the family Littorinidae. Its name, aspera, means rough, referring to the shell’s textured or sculptured surface. Like other periwinkles, it has a hard, spirally coiled shell and a muscular foot that allows it to cling to rocks. It grazes on microscopic algae and biofilm growing on coastal surfaces. Shell colour and pattern can vary, so identification is best based on shell shape and sculpture alongside other diagnostic features.
Range
• Echinolittorina aspera is a marine snail associated with tropical and subtropical coastal waters of the Americas. It occurs in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.
Habitat
• This snail inhabits rocky shores and other firm coastal surfaces in the intertidal zone. It clings to rocks and may shelter in crevices to reduce exposure to sun, heat, and drying during low tide. It feeds on microscopic plant growth and organic films on the substrate, forming part of the small-grazer community of rocky coastal habitats.