Puperita pupa explained

Puperita pupa, commonly known as zebra nerite, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Neritidae, the nerites.^[1]

Description

The shell is thin but strong, globular, not presenting a prominent spire. There are 2 to 3 whorls, the outer lip is thin and sharp, the columellar area is polished and has a broad wall. The largest known specimens reach 10.6 mm. Th shell coloration is variable but is characterized by axial bands of black and white like a zebra. The opening is gray with an ocher-colored parietal callus area, and the operculum is bright yellow ^{[2] [3]}

Distribution

Puperita pupa is a nerite that is widely distributed in the area of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

• Caribbean Sea
• Cayman Islands
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Gulf of Mexico
• Hispaniola
• Jamaica
• Lesser Antilles
• Mexico
• San Andres
• Venezuela^[4]

This species occurs in brackish water on the West Indian island of Dominica.^[5]

External links

• ZipcodeZoo.com: Puperita pupa (Zebra Nerite)

Videos

• Youtube: Zebra Nerite snails (Puperita pupa)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Zebra Nerite Snail . The Brackish Tank . 14 January 2024.
2. Aboott, R. Tucker. 1954: “American Seashells”. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc, Toronto – Canadá. 541p.
3. Morris, Percy A. 1973: “A field guide to shells of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the West Indies”. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston EE.UU. 330p
4. Baker, H. Burrington. 1923: “The mollusca collected by the University of Michigan-Willianson expedition in Venezuela”. Occasional Paper of the Museum of Zoology. University of Michigan, 152:1-159.
5. Starmühlner F. von (1988). "Ergebnisse der Österreichisch-Französischen Hydrobiologischen Mission 1979 nach Guadeloupe, Dominica und Martinique (Kleine Antillen). Teil II: Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Süß- und Brackwassermollusken von Guadeloupe, Dominica und Martinique". Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien Serie B, 90: 221-340. PDF.