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Stiracolpus symmetricus facts for kids

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Stiracolpus symmetricus, also known as the small turret, is a type of sea snail. It is a marine mollusk that lives in the ocean. These snails belong to a group called gastropods, which includes all snails and slugs. The small turret snail is part of the Turritellidae family.


Quick facts for kids
Stiracolpus symmetricus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Sorbeoconcha
Superfamily:
Cerithioidea
Family:
Turritellidae
Subfamily:
Turritellinae
Genus:
Stiracolpus
Species:
S. symetricus
Binomial name
Stiracolpus symmetricus
(Hutton, 1873)

What is a Sea Snail?

Sea snails are amazing creatures that live in the ocean. They are a type of mollusk, which is a group of soft-bodied animals. Many mollusks, like snails, have a hard shell to protect their soft bodies. Sea snails use a muscular "foot" to move around slowly. They can be found in many different ocean environments.

About the Small Turret Snail

The small turret snail, Stiracolpus symmetricus, gets its name from its shape. Its shell looks a bit like a tall, narrow tower or "turret." This snail's shell can grow up to about 11 millimeters long. That's a little over a centimeter, so it's quite small! The shell is usually spiral-shaped, which is common for many snails.

Where Does It Live?

This particular sea snail is special because it is endemic to New Zealand. This means it is only found naturally in New Zealand and nowhere else in the world. It lives in the marine, or ocean, environments around New Zealand. Scientists first described this species in 1873.

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