Nanula tasmanica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nanula tasmanica |
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| Drawing with an apertural view of a shell of Nanula tasmanica | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Vetigastropoda |
| Order: | Trochida |
| Superfamily: | Trochoidea |
| Family: | Trochidae |
| Genus: | Nanula |
| Species: |
N. tasmanica
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| Binomial name | |
| Nanula tasmanica (Petterd, 1879)
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Nanula tasmanica is a tiny sea snail that lives in the ocean. It's a type of mollusk called a gastropod, which means "stomach foot" – like snails and slugs! This little snail belongs to a group called the Trochidae family, also known as "top snails" because their shells often look like spinning tops.
Contents
About the Nanula tasmanica Shell
The shell of the Nanula tasmanica is quite small. It usually grows to about 6 millimeters (which is less than a quarter of an inch) tall. Its width is around 5.5 millimeters.
Shell Shape and Look
This snail's shell has a rounded, top-like shape. It's not very shiny and often looks whitish. Sometimes, it has hints of yellow or green. You might even see a few dark brown spots or lines on it.
The top part of the shell, called the spire, is very short. The lines between the shell's spirals, known as sutures, are pressed in. The shell has about 4 to 5 rounded spirals, or whorls. Each whorl has fine, regular spiral lines all over it.
The main part of the shell, called the body whorl, is rounded at its widest point. The underside is curved and has a small dip around the central opening.
The Opening and Inside
The shell's opening, or aperture, is slanted and shaped like a rounded oval. It's pointed at the top and wide at the bottom. Inside, the shell has a thin, shiny layer that looks like a rainbow. This layer is called nacre, which is the same material that makes up pearls!
The edges of the opening are thin and curved. The narrow central hole, called the umbilicus, is not surrounded by a sharp edge.
Where Nanula tasmanica Lives
This sea snail is special because it's endemic to Australia. This means it's found naturally only in this part of the world. You can find it in the shallow waters off the coast of Tasmania and Victoria. It also lives in the Bass Strait, which is the sea channel between mainland Australia and Tasmania. These snails prefer the subtidal zone, which is the area of the ocean floor that is always covered by water, even at low tide.
More About This Snail
- Petterd, W. 1879. New species of Tasmanian marine shells. Journal of Conchology 2: 102–105
- May, W.L. 1923. An Illustrated Index of Tasmanian Shells. Hobart : Government Printer 100 pp.
