Myosotella myosotis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Myosotella myosotis |
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| live Myosotella myosotis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| (unranked): | |
| Superfamily: |
Ellobioidea
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| Family: |
Ellobiidae
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| Genus: |
Myosotella
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| Species: |
M. myosotis
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| Binomial name | |
| Myosotella myosotis (Draparnaud, 1801)
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| Synonyms | |
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see "List of Synonyms" |
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The Myosotella myosotis, also known as the mouse ear snail, is a small snail found in Europe. It lives in salt marsh areas near the sea. This snail is a type of terrestrial mollusk, meaning it lives on land, and it belongs to the family Ellobiidae.
Contents
What Does the Mouse Ear Snail Look Like?
The shell of the mouse ear snail is usually yellowish to brownish. It can be smooth or have very fine lines on it, and it often looks shiny. The shell has about 7 to 8 slightly rounded sections called whorls.
The opening of the shell, called the aperture, has a white edge. Inside, there's often a white layer on one side. It has a very strong, horizontal fold called a parietalis, and sometimes a smaller second one. There's also a strong columellaris, which is another fold near the central part of the shell. The belly-button-like opening, called the umbilicus, is usually covered.
Some mouse ear snails, specifically a form called denticulata, have small, drop-like folds inside the shell near the lip. The largest shell ever recorded for this snail was about 12 millimeters long.
Where Does the Mouse Ear Snail Live?
This snail is originally from Europe and can be found in many countries and islands there.
- Belgium
- Netherlands
- Great Britain
- Ireland
- Coasts of the Mediterranean Sea (like Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey)
- Coasts of Western Europe, stretching up to Ireland and Scotland
- The Black Sea and northern Germany (including the Baltic Sea)
The mouse ear snail has also traveled to other parts of the world. It is now found on the West Coast and the East Coast of North America. When a species is found in new places outside its original home, it's called an "exotic" species there.
What is the Mouse Ear Snail's Habitat?
This snail lives right at sea level, specifically where the highest tides reach. This means you would find it in areas that are regularly covered and uncovered by the ocean's tides. Its recorded depth range is very specific: from 0 meters (sea level) to 0 meters. This shows it lives right at the edge of the water.
Images for kids
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Photo of the shell
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Drawing of the shell
