Nodulus contortus (Jeffreys, 1856)
Mediterranean to Canarias.
Grazer and detritus feeder in the shallow infralittoral, often crawling on the fronds of red algae.
Original taxon: Rissoa contorta.
2m deep, Cabopino, Marbella, Málaga, Andalucia, S. Spain.
1,25-1,5mm.
« Testa brevi-cylindrica, ad apicem obtusa, lutea aut alba, solidula; anfractibus 4, ventricosis, sensim crescentibus, laevibus, nitidis, zonis duabus fulvis cinctis; sutura profunda; apertura subrotunda, subeffusa, tertiam spirae partem superante, margine connexo, soluto; umbilico angusto […] Genoa, Foci, Sestri di Levante and Spezia, on sea-weed in the littoral zone. » – J. G. Jeffreys: “On the marine Testacea of the Piedmontese coast”, Annals and Magazine of Natural History ser. II vol. XVII, London 1856, p.183.

Cap Ras, Llançà, Girona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. 0,7-0,9mm.
The shell is generally smooth, with inflated whorls and a shorter spire than in N. spiralis.
Variants elata, intorta, lactea, rufa, varicosa.
Subadult from 2m deep, Cabopino, Marbella. 0,7-0,8mm.
Presence of an umbilicus or, at least, a slit.
Shallow grit, plage de La Franqui, Leucate, Aude, Occitania, S. France. 1,1mm (orange, subadult) and 1,25mm (yellow, adult). Notice the two spiral bands on this last specimen.
Original pictures provided by S. Clanzig (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –

— back to Anabathridae —