Diloma aethiops facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Diloma aethiops |
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The Diloma aethiops is a small sea snail that lives in the ocean. It's a type of mollusc called a gastropod. Some common names for this snail are scorched monodont and spotted black topshell. In the Māori language, people call it pūpū, pūpū-mai, or māihi. This snail belongs to the family Trochidae.
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What Does the Scorched Monodont Look Like?
The shell of the Diloma aethiops snail can be between 15 mm and 30 mm long. That's about the size of a small coin! Its shell is thick and solid. It has a shape like a cone that's a bit flattened. The shell is usually blackish, with small yellow or white dots on its ridges.
Shell Features
The top part of the shell, called the spire, is shaped like a cone and can be more or less flat. The very tip of the spire is called the apex. The shell has five whorls, which are like the spirals or turns of the shell. These whorls have strong ridges that go around them. These ridges can have small bumps, called nodules.
The largest part of the shell, called the body whorl, is also a bit flat. It has rough, bumpy lines that go in circles around it. The opening of the shell, where the snail comes out, is called the aperture. It's slanted. The edge of the opening, called the outer lip, is blackish on the outside and shiny white on the inside.
The central part of the shell's opening is called the columella. It's almost straight, flat, and white.
The Snail's Body
The snail itself has a yellow foot. It has a brown stripe around its edge and black sides with some yellowish-white spots. It also has greenish filaments, which are like small feelers, and a yellowish mouth.
Where Do These Snails Live?
The Diloma aethiops snail is found only in New Zealand. This means it is endemic to New Zealand and doesn't naturally live anywhere else in the world.
You can find these snails in rocky areas along the coast, especially where the tide goes in and out. This area is called the intertidal zone. They are very common there. They are often the only type of trochid snail you'll see on open rocks, especially in calm or partly exposed coastal areas.
In places like harbors or estuaries, which are where rivers meet the sea, these snails often live with another type of snail called D. subrostrata. They like to be on hard, packed mud among empty bivalve shells.
