Alder's necklace shell (Euspira nitida)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

The shell of Euspira nitida is smooth, glossy and entirely lacking in ornament. The shell is up to 1.5 cm high and 1.2 cm wide, the last whorl making up most of the shell height. An umbilicus is present, the opening of which is narrow and pointed. The aperture is very large and occupies about three-quarters of the shell height. There are five rows of brown markings on the shell. The large foot is cream or yellow in colour and bears two long, flattened tentacles. The lobes of the foot cover most of the shell when the snail is active.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Recorded from locations all around Britain and Ireland but records are most likely incomplete.

Global distribution

Recorded around the British Isles, Mediterranean and into the North Sea. Single recordings in the Atlantic Ocean and northwest coast of Africa. 

Habitat

On sandy bottoms between 10 and 50 m depth, usually buried because it feeds on bivalve molluscs.

Depth range

10-50 m

Identifying features

  • Shell smooth and glossy.
  • Spire is very small compared to the size of the last whorl.
  • D-shaped aperture.
  • Lobes of the foot cover most of the shell when the snail is active.
  • Umbilicus a shaped like a pointed oval.
  • Whorls of the spire are not shouldered.
  • The last whorl bears five spiral rows of brown marks.
  • Two flattened tentacles extend over the leading edge of the foot from the base of the shell.

Additional information

May be mistaken for the necklace shell Euspira catena but Euspira nitida is much larger and the shell bears distinct sutures and the outer lip of the aperture joins with the last whorl at right angles. Euspira catena also lacks the spiral markings of Euspira nitida

Egg capsules are laid in a characteristic collar-shaped mass of jelly and sand grains. The collar is 2.5 - 3 cm in diameter with a central hole 1 cm wide and is unbroken. Eggs capsules are arranged irregularly in a single plane. Breeding occurs in spring and early summer (Graham, 1988).

Listed by

- none -

Further information sources

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Bibliography

  1. Bruce, J.R., Colman, J.S. & Jones, N.S., 1963. Marine fauna of the Isle of Man. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.

  2. Crothers, J.H. (ed.), 1966. Dale Fort Marine Fauna. London: Field Studies Council.

  3. Graham, A., 1988. Molluscs: prosobranchs and pyramellid gastropods (2nd ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys. [Synopses of the British Fauna No. 2]

  4. Graham, A., 1988. Molluscs: prosobranchs and pyramellid gastropods (2nd ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys. [Synopses of the British Fauna No. 2]

  5. Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.

  6. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  7. Picton, B.E. & Costello, M.J., 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. [CD-ROM] Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin.

Datasets

  1. Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, 2018. Ulster Museum Marine Surveys of Northern Ireland Coastal Waters. Occurrence dataset https://www.nmni.com/CEDaR/CEDaR-Centre-for-Environmental-Data-and-Recording.aspx accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-25.

  2. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2018. Mollusc (marine) data for Great Britain and Ireland - restricted access. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/4bsawx accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25.

  3. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2023. Mollusc (marine) records for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  4. Environmental Records Information Centre North East, 2018. ERIC NE Combined dataset to 2017. Occurrence dataset: http://www.ericnortheast.org.ukl accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-38

  5. Fenwick, 2018. Aphotomarine. Occurrence dataset http://www.aphotomarine.com/index.html Accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01

  6. Kent Wildlife Trust, 2018. Kent Wildlife Trust Shoresearch Intertidal Survey 2004 onwards. Occurrence dataset: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/ accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01.

  7. Manx Biological Recording Partnership, 2022. Isle of Man historical wildlife records 1990 to 1994. Occurrence dataset:https://doi.org/10.15468/aru16v accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  8. Merseyside BioBank., 2018. Merseyside BioBank (unverified). Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/iou2ld accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  9. Merseyside BioBank., 2018. Merseyside BioBank Active Naturalists (unverified). Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/smzyqf accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  10. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  11. Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service, 2017. NBIS Records to December 2016. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/jca5lo accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  12. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2024. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2024-12-27

  13. South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre, 2018. SEWBReC Molluscs (South East Wales). Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/jos5ga accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-02.

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Neal, K.J. 2008. Euspira nitida Alder's necklace shell. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 27-12-2024]. Available from: https://marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/2062

Last Updated: 17/04/2008