Naticarius hebraeus (Martyn, 1786)
Mediterranean. Predator in infralittoral-circalittoral soft bottoms, down to the continental shelf and slope.
Crawls on the bottom or just below its surface.
Original taxon: Nerita hebraea.
A frequently used synonym was cruentatus Gmelin.
San Feliu de Guíxols, Girona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. 34-37mm.
Other synonyms: adspersa, maculata, maxima.
Ayrolles lagoon, Gruissan, Occitania, S. France. 47mm.
The dotted pattern is never as regularly disposed as in Naticarius stercusmuscarum (Gmelin, 1791). Often, the spots congregate, forming blotches of random shapes. 300m deep, off Castelldefels, Barcelona, Catalunya. 37mm.
Beach collected, on right bank, south of the river mouth, le Grau du Roi, Occitania. 30-33mm.
Adult. Pointe de l’Espiguette, le Grau du Roi.
Original picture provided by J. Renoult for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC) –
Uncommon banded mixture made with two forms: “maculata” and “immaculata”. In nets, Heraklion, N. Crete. 27mm.
Young. Narbonne-Plage, Aude, Occitania.
Original picture provided by slebris for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC) –
On sand, Grau de la Vieille Nouvelle, entrance of Ayrolle lagoon. 46-48mm.
Same spot. 51,5mm.
Plage du Prévost, Palavas-les-Flots, Hérault, Occitania.
Original picture provided by X. Rufray for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC) –
Synonyms: fasciata, millepunctata, sanguinolenta
Cap d’Agde, Hérault, Occitania. 30-33mm.
Juvenile from Limáni Sisiou, east of Malia, N. Lassithi, N. Crete. 1,2mm.
“Natica noae” d’Orbigny, 1850 is an eocene fossil of the Bartonian strata. Here, a complete specimen from Auversian sands at Isles-les-Meldeuses, Seine-et-Marne, east of Paris, France. 15mm. Some morphological characters (subsutural plate, deep umbilicus, big funiculum) suggest that the species belongs, in actuality, to the genus Naticarius Duméril.

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