''Acteon tornatilis'', common name the "lathe acteon", is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of medium-sized sea snail, a

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

marine gastropod mollusc in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Acteonidae, the barrel bubble snails.Gofas, S. (2014). Acteon tornatilis (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=138691 on 2014-12-12

Distribution

This sea snail is present in the Faroes, Shetland, Norway, British coasts, Atlantic coasts of France to the Mediterranean and Marmara Sea. This is the major representative of the Acteonidae in European waters.

Description

''Acteon tornatilis'' has a shell reaching a length of . The body size reaches . The basic colour of the shells is pink or pale brown with white bands. The shell is thick, glossy and ridged transversely, with 6-7 large whorls, filled with alternating wider light brown spiral bands and smaller pinkish stripes. The outer lip is white. The shell is elongate and ovate with a sharp apex. The aperture is narrow at the posterior notch but wider at the base. The columella is slightly thickened and twisted.

Habitat

This species lives buried in the sand, in the intertidal zone and to a depth of up to 250 m.

References

* Vaught, K.C. (1989). ''A classification of the living Mollusca''. American Malacologists: Melbourne, FL (USA). . XII, 195 pp. * Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). ''European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification''. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213 * Spencer, H.; Marshall. B. (2009). ''All Mollusca except Opisthobranchia''. In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp

External links

Marine Species Identification
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3735118 Acteonidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus