Phylum Mollusca | ||
 | ||
Similar Acteon, Turritella turbona, Bivetiella cancellata, Tectonatica sagraiana, Gibbula magus | ||
Acteon tornatilis, common name the "lathe acteon", is a species of medium-sized sea snail, a predatory marine gastropod mollusc in the family Acteonidae, the barrel bubble snails.
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Description
Acteon tornatilis has a shell reaching a length of 10–25 centimetres (3.9–9.8 in). The body size reaches 30 centimetres (12 in). This sea snail is the major representative of the Acteonidae in European waters. The basic colour of the shells is pink or pale brown with white bands. The shell is thick, glossy and ridged transversely, with 6-7 large whorls, filled with alternating wider light brown spiral bands and smaller pinkish stripes. The outer lip is white. The shell is elongate and ovate with a sharp apex. The aperture is narrow at the posterior notch but wider at the base. The columella is slightly thickened and twisted.
Distribution
This sea snail is present in Iceland, Faroes, Shetland, Norway, British coasts, Norway to Congo, Atlantic coasts of France to the Mediterranean and Marmara Sea.
This is the major representative of the Acteonidae in European waters.
Habitat
This species lives buried in the sand, in the intertidal zone and to a depth of up to 250 m
