''Gibbula verdensis'' is a species of

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.

Description

The Gibbula verdensis is a living organism, of the

Animalia Kingdom Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

. It belongs to the phylum

Mollusca Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

, class

Gastropoda The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...

, subclass Vetigastropoda, order

Trochida Trochida is an order of small to very large vetigastropod, Recent and extinct sea snails with gills and an operculum.MolluscaBase (2018). Trochida. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php? ...

, family Trochidae, subfamily

Cantharidinae The Cantharidinae are a taxonomic subfamily of very small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Trochidae, common name top snails.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2011). Cantharidinae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Spec ...

and genus

Gibbula ''Gibbula'' is a genus of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Cantharidinae of the family Trochidae, the top snails.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2011). Gibbula Risso, 1826. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Spec ...

. Dead Gibbula verdensis form shallow marine sediments. They have sexual reproduction. Their body symmetry is dextrally coiled. The shell reaches a height of 7 mm. Their locomotion relies on mucus mediated gliding, which refers to muscular waves propelling an animal over a mucus layer overlaying the substrate; in which alternating regions of muscular contraction and expansion create traveling waves that shear the mucus, resulting in translation of the animal. The mineralized skeleton of the Gibbula verdensis contains calcium carbonate. Their trophic guild (which is a group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods) is deposit feeder, which refers to an organism that eats particulate organic material in or on sediments, and grazer, which refers to a consumer feeding on low growing organisms, eg: a herbivore that eats parts of low-growing grasses, forbs or algae.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off the

Cape Verdes , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

. Some of the places where is has been spotted are Cabo Verde, Santo Antâo, Tarrafal de Monte Trigo, and weeds on rocks. Their habitat is the

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

benthic biome (benthic meaning 'bottom') encompasses the seafloor and includes such areas as shores, littoral or intertidal areas, marine coral reefs, and the deep seabed.

References

* Rolán E., 2005. ''Malacological Fauna From The Cape Verde Archipelago. Part 1, Polyplacophora and Gastropoda.''

External links

* verdensis Gastropods described in 2001 Gastropods of Cape Verde {{Trochidae-stub