| Smaragdia viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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SE. USA to Brasil, Algarve to Cabo Verde, Mediterranean; antilessepsian (Aqaba). Seagrass grazer in the infralittoral, mostly on Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera marina, and not on epiphytes as usual in Nerites. THe other seasgrass Posidonia oceanica does not seem to be a selected dish for this species. In fact, « herbivory is lower on seagrass species with a low growth rate such as P. oceanica (2% of its annual production) compared to species with high growth rates such as Z. marina (7.5%) or C. nodosa (9.3%). » – Rueda & Salas, “Trophic dependence of the emerald neritid Smaragdia viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) on two seagrasses from European coasts”, ournal of Molluscan Studies vol. 73-2, 2007, p.211-214.
The veliger is planktotrophic, hence its capacity to cross the Atlantic. Original taxon: Nerita viridis.
2m deep, in detritus, Isla Plana, Murcia, S. Spain. 5-6mm. |
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| 12m deep, in sand patch among Posidonia meadows, Punta di Parata, Vignola, Marina di Davia, Corbara, NW. Corsica. 5,9mm. |
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| Upper infralittoral, off the little beach west of Agios Ioannis church, Kalami, Chania, NW. Crete. Original picture provided by stepfen on iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |
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| 30m deep, off Poetto, Cagliari, S. Sardinia. 3,5-5mm. |
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A synonym is pallidula (pale).
A white specimen from Llançà, Catalunya, NE. Spain. 4mm.
Original picture provided by R. Huet (FR) – (CC BY-NC-SA). |
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| 3m deep, at the foot of the citadel, south of the harbour, Methoni, Messinia, Peloponnese, SW. Greece. 4,8-5,2mm. |
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| Variant “lineata”. 16m deep, in Posidonia meadow, gulf of Corigliano, Cosenza, Calabria, S. Italy. 5mm. |
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| A “lineata” off Sant Martí d’Empúries, L’Escala, Girona, Catalunya. Original picture provided by B. Garrigós for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |
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The opercula in two specimens from 1m deep, Calamosca beach, Cagliari, S. Sardinia. 6,2-7,5mm.
Source: gruppomalacologicoscalaria.org.
Original pictures provided by A. Nappo (IT).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
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| Worn operculum from grit, 8m deep, Bodrum, Muğla province, SW. Turkey. The outer keel (labial side) and the projections (columellar side) are generic; the colour is specific. |
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| On Posidonia oceanica, Calanque de Saména, Marseille, Provence, S.&nbvsp;France. Original picture provided by S. Le Bris for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |