Myosotella denticulata (Montagu, 1803)
Netherlands to Canarias, Madeira to Ionian Sea.
Grazer and detritus feeder in the shallow infralittoral.
Original taxon: Voluta denticulata.
Intertidal, Torre Chianca, Lecce, Puglia, S. Italy. 7,5mm
« Voluta with seven or eight volutions, tapering to a fine point, the lower one large, the others gradually decreasing; of a semi-pellucid horn-colour, inclining to purplish-brown towards the top; aperture oblong-oval, half the length of the shell; outer lip furnished with two or three tubercles near the margin, and frequently with three or four white denticulations further within the aperture; columella plicated, with three or four white folds, which are much elevated, and appear like teeth, but spirally turn with the columella. […] It is subject to some variety with respect to the denticulations on the outer lip; some have more, others less, or even destitute of them in young shells; the plications on the columella vary also from two to four, but most commonly three. […] it is found on the roots of rushes in marshes near Faversham. Possibly the marshes where they were found, were subject to the flux of the tide… » – G. Montagu: Testacea Britannica part I, London 1803, p.234-235. – Indeed, the species lives more in marine conditions than myosotis.

On sand at low tide, Vigo, Galicia, NW. Spain. 7mm.
Presence, especially in young specimens, of a various number of weak labial denticles, often at the edge, sometimes also deeply inside, as noticed by Montagu. – Subadult collected at 2-3m deep, in shell grit, at the foot of the citadel, south of the jetty, Methóni, Messinia, Peloponnese, SW. Greece. 3,5mm.
Same spot.
Notice the unobtrusive spiky perio under the suture. 3,8mm.
The complicated system of denticles in a fully adult specimen from Vandellòs i l’Hospitalet de l’Infant, Tarragona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. Original pictures provided by S. Gago Carrión, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, for gbif.org.
– (CC BY) –

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