Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Buccinoidea Subfamily Pisaniinae Scientific name Engina mendicaria Rank Species | Class Gastropoda Family Buccinidae Genus Engina Phylum Mollusca | |
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Similar Engina, Pollia undosa, Pollia fumosa, Pisania, Phos | ||
Engina mendicaria, common name striped engina or bumble bee snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.
Contents
Description
The shell size varies between 10 mm and 20 mm. This shell shows a white or yellowish background with a few transversal black bands and resembles the yellow and black pattern of wasps and bees (hence a common name).
Distribution
This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, in the tropical Indo-Pacific and Australia.
Habitat
These carnivore sea snails live on rocky shores and sand beds. They are mainly nocturnal.
References
Engina mendicaria Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA