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Common periwinkle

Common periwinkle

Distribution
Distribution in scandinavian waters

Maximum length: 4 cm.
Appearance: Common periwinkle with cross-striped tentacles. The pointed shell is often brown to brown-black in colour, but sometimes can be lighter (orange - whitish). The spires pillar, that is seen from the aperture, is usually white. It is never pink to lilac, like most rough periwinkles . The inside of the shell at the aperture can have dark inward orientated lines. These types of lines are not found in other closely related specie.
Depth: 0-15 m.
Environment: Found on both soft and hard bottoms. The Common periwinkle lives in most shallow environments in direct contact with e.g. sand, rocks and cliffs, but even crawls amongst the vegetation. This species is not normally found in areas with excessively wave exposed cliffs and rocks. Nor do they creep far up the beaches like the rough periwinkle, but the empty shells of this species are quite often found washed up onto beaches.
Classification: The Common periwinkle is a member of the mesogastropods under the molluscs.


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Bo Johannesson | Martin Larsvik | Lars-Ove Loo | Helena Samuelsson