Nepotilla bathentoma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nepotilla bathentoma |
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| Original image of a shell of Nepotilla bathentoma | |
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Nepotilla bathentoma is a tiny sea snail. It's a type of marine gastropod mollusk, which means it lives in the ocean and has a soft body, often protected by a shell. This snail belongs to the Raphitomidae family.
About This Tiny Snail
This sea snail is very small. Its shell usually grows to about 2.8 millimeters long. That's less than a third of a centimeter! The shell is also quite narrow, with a diameter of about 1.45 millimeters.
The shell of Nepotilla bathentoma is white and thin. It has about five whorls, which are the spiral turns of the shell. The very first part of the shell, called the protoconch, is shaped like a cone and has two rounded whorls.
Shell Features
The main part of the shell, called the body whorl, has a special shape. It narrows quickly towards the bottom. The opening of the shell, known as the aperture, is shaped like an oval.
The snail's outer lip (the edge of the opening) is thin. It has a deep, narrow groove near the top. The columella is the central pillar inside the shell, and for this snail, it's quite long and almost straight.
If you look at the shell from the top, it might look slightly angled, almost like it has ten sides. Sometimes, these angles can even form sharp bumps. The shell also has faint lines that run across it, but they don't cross over the main spiral ridges.
Where It Lives
Nepotilla bathentoma is a marine species that lives only in Australia. This means it is endemic to Australia and isn't found naturally anywhere else in the world. You can find this snail off the coasts of New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania.
