''Testudovolva nipponensis'' 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 Ovulidae, the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries.
Description
The shell size varies between 5 mm and 14 mm. Color can vary, including white, fawn or pale purple with outer lip white.
Distribution
This species is distributed in the Pacific Ocean along
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and the
Philippines. Can be found at low tide as well as among soft corals.
References
* Cate, C. N. 1973. ''A systematic revision of the recent Cypraeid family Ovulidae''. Veliger 15 (supplement): 1–117
* Lorenz F. & Fehse D. (2009). ''The Living Ovulidae - A manual of the families of Allied Cowries: Ovulidae, Pediculariidae and Eocypraeidae''. Conchbooks, Hackenheim, Germany
External links
*
Ovulidae
Gastropods described in 1913
{{Ovulidae-stub