White Nassa (Variable dog whelk)
Phrontis alba (Say, 1826)
The White Nassa is rare on S. Hutchinson Island beaches.
White Nassa, S. Hutchinson Island, November 2020
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Phrontis alba, common name the variable dog whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Nassariidae, the Nassa mud snails or dog whelks.[1]
The variety Nassarius albus var. nanus Nowell-Usticke, 1959 is a synonym of Phrontis karinae Nowell-Usticke, 1971
Description
The length of the shell varies between 6 mm and 13 mm.
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This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2012)
Distribution
This species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Lesser Antilles; in the Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina, USA to Brazil.
References
Marshall, B. (2016). Phrontis alba (Say, 1826). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=877063 on 2017-04-27
Cernohorsky W. O. (1984). Systematics of the family Nassariidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Bulletin of the Auckland Institute and Museum 14: 1–356.
Rosenberg, G., F. Moretzsohn, and E. F. García. 2009. Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
Petuch E.J. & Myers R.F. (2014). Molluscan communities of the Florida Keys and adjacent areas. Their ecology and biodiversity. CRC Press, Boca Raton. 300 pp.
Galindo L.A., Puillandre N., Utge J., Lozouet P. & Bouchet P. (2016). The phylogeny and systematics of the Nassariidae revisited (Gastropoda, Buccinoidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 99: 337-353
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tritia alba.
"Nassarius (Nassarius) albus". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.