Kingdom Animalia Family Struthiolariidae Scientific name Pelicaria vermis Higher classification Struthiolaria vermis | Superfamily Stromboidea Genus Pelicaria Phylum Mollusca Rank Species | |
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Similar Struthiolaria, Struthiolaria papulosa, Gastropods, Molluscs, Stromboidea | ||
Pelicaria vermis, known as the small ostrich foot shell or takai in Māori, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Struthiolariidae. It is the only extant species in the genus.
Contents
Distribution & Habitat
This species is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand, where it lives just beneath the surface on tidal flats and off sandy beaches, occasionally to depths of 90m.
Description
The shell height is up to 54 mm, and width up to 35 mm, colouring usually yellow brown, rarely plain yellow or purple.
References
Pelicaria vermis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA