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 modesta
-Gastropods (Class Gastropoda)
-Caenogastropods (Subclass Caenogastropoda)
-Order Littorinimorpha
-Periwinkle Snails and Allies (Superfamily Littorinoidea)
-Periwinkle Snails (Family Littorinidae)
-Subfamily Littorininae
-Genus Echinolittorina
-Echinolittorina modesta
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 modesta is a small marine periwinkle snail in the family Littorinidae. Like other members of its genus, it has a hard, coiled shell that protects its soft body from wave action and drying. These snails typically graze on microscopic algae and biofilm growing on hard surfaces. Species-specific information on its appearance and biology is limited, so identification is best confirmed using shell characteristics and other taxonomic features.
Range
• Echinolittorina modesta is a marine gastropod associated with the tropical eastern Pacific region. It occurs in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.
Habitat
• This small snail inhabits rocky shorelines and other hard coastal surfaces, where it can be found on rocks and in crevices within the intertidal zone. It is adapted to fluctuating moisture, temperature, and salinity as the tide rises and falls, often sheltering in damp cracks or shaded spots during periods of exposure.