Ovatella firminii (Payraudeau, 1826)
Mediterranean, Morocco. Grazer and detritus feeder in shallow brackish water as well as, sometimes, in freshwater (Rhodes, Petaloudes, 6km inland – cf. Páll-Gergely & Csabai, 2008).
Original taxon: Auricula firminii.
Syn: punctata. The epithet firmini is a misspelling.

« Shell ovate, bulbous, whitish-yellowish, transversally striated and adorned with pale bands; whorls almost flat; spire short, with a darker apex; three columellar folds. » – B. C. Payraudeau: Catalogue descriptif et méthodique des annelides et des mollusques de l’île de Corse, Paris 1826, p.105. – Above, the species in Payraudeau, plate V, fig.9-10.
« Dedicated to M. de Saint-Firmin, autor of monographs, still manuscript, on various genera of birds of prey. » – Ibid.
Shallow water, under stone, Kerkennah, S. Tunisia. 7,2mm.
Younger specimens, with periostracum.
Same spot. 7,1-7,4mm.
Littoral, Karma, Zadar, Croatia. 6,5mm.
Original pictures provided by A. Petani (HR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
Under pebble, Levanzo island, Egadi archipelago, W. Sicilia. The cephalic tentacles are more or less dark coloured, depending of their extension, and/or of the individuals.
Original pictures provided by D. Pavon (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –

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