Tritia reticulata


Tritia reticulata, common name the "netted dog whelk", is a species of small European sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nassariidae, the dog whelks or nassa mud snails.

Description

The length of the shell varies between 20 mm and 35 mm.
The egg-shaped shell is elongated, rounded, obtuse at its lower extremity, and pointed at the upper extremity. It is moderately thick. The conical spire is composed of eight or nine whorls, almost flat, or slightly swollen, but distant from each other. Their surface is deeply chequered by longitudinal folds, crossed by numerous striae. The aperture is moderate, white and ovate. The outer lip is thick, ornamented within with seven or eight striae, of which those of the middle are generally the largest. The columella is slightly arcuated, covered with a thin, brilliant plate. The color of this shell is of a yellowish white, reddish or chestnut-color, with a blackish blue band, passing beneath the suture.
Diogenes pugilator, using a shell of the dog whelk Nassarius reticulatus

Distribution

This species occurs in the Northeast Atlantic, in European waters, in the Atlantic Ocean off the Azores, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands and Morocco.