Kingdom Animalia Class Gastropoda Family Olivellidae Scientific name Olivella alba | Phylum Mollusca Superfamily Olivoidea Genus Olivella Rank Species | |
Olivella alba is a species of small sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Olivellidae, the dwarf olives.
Description
The Olivella alba belongs to the taxonomic class Gastropoda, which also includes snails that live in other habitats, such as land snails and freshwater snails. Olivella alba have distinctive white shells. Despite their angelic appearance, the Olivella alba emits excretes an oil-like liquid known as crude oil. The over-hunting of the Olivella alba for the illegal earring boom in Africa has led to the endangerment of this species, causing political uproar amongst environmentalists globally. Because of this, the lesser spotted sea snail is a rare sighting.
During the Rio de Janeiro World Summit for Environmental Affairs and Trade in 2010, discussions were held to outline a re-population programme of the Olivella alba.