Nerita litterata Gmelin, 1791

Mustapha, Nurshahida, Baharuddin, Nursalwa, Tan, Siong Kiat & Marshall, David J., 2021, The neritid snails of Brunei Darussalam: their geographical, ecological and conservation significance, Ecologica Montenegrina 42, pp. 45-61 : 49-51

Nerita litterata Gmelin, 1791

Figs. 2I–J and 4B

Nerita litterata Gmelin, 1791: 3685 .

Nerita polita – Tan & Clements, 2008: 487, figs. 2-17, 2-18.

Nerita (Linnerita) litterata – Eichhorst, 2016a: 511, pls. 142–145.

Linnerita litterata – Vermeij & Hoeft, 2018: 499.

Material. UBDM.7.00070. Collected from PP.

Abundance. Locally rare (currently).

Habitat. Rocky shore. High-shore. Preference for rocky and sandy interface.

Local distribution. PP and ES.

Ecology and conservation. N. litterata , a habitat specialist, prefers the mixed rocks and sandy habitat of the upper intertidal zone. Sediment particle size is important as the species can be observed crawling with sand particles covering their shells but intolerant of muddy substratum. Once a significant population in ES (4 years ago) is now entirely lost following the destruction of fringing forest at ES, landslides and elevated suspended sediments loading ( Marshall et al. 2019). Given its specialist habitat requirements, this species is vulnerable to local extinction. Colonisation potential remains unknown.

M N O P Q R S T

Biogeographical distribution. SR of Western Coral Triangle. Generally, Indo-West Pacific ( Frey & Vermeij 2008; Frey 2010b; Vermeij & Hoeft 2018).

* Nerita patula Récluz, 1841

Figs. 2E–F and 4D

Nerita patula Récluz, 1841: 148 .

Nerita (Theliostyla) patula – Eichhorst, 2016a: 458, pls. 161, 162.

Material. UBDM.7.00040. Collected from ES.

Abundance. Locally rare (only one specimen collected).

Habitat. Rocky shore. Mid-shore.

Local distribution. ES only.

Ecology and conservation. Co-habitant with the abundant N. chamaeleon . At the moment, the species is of high level of conservation importance in Brunei as it is very rare.

Biogeographical distribution. HI and SR of Western Coral Triangle. Generally distributed in Indo-West Pacific ( Frey & Vermeij 2008; Frey 2010b; Vermeij & Hoeft 2018).

Figures

Figure 2. Neritidae species found associated with lower estuarine, mangroves and rocky shores of Brunei Darussalam, shown in apertural and abapertural view. A–B. Nerita albicilla Linnaeus, 1758. C–D. Nerita chamaeleon Linnaeus, 1758. E–F. *Nerita patula Récluz, 1841. G–H. *Nerita insculpta Récluz, 1841. I–J. Nerita litterata Gmelin, 1791. K– L. Nerita undata Linnaeus, 1758. M–N. Nerita balteata Reeve, 1855. O–P. Nerita planospira Anton, 1838. Q–R. *Nerita exuvia Linnaeus, 1758. S-T. *Nerita histrio Linnaeus, 1758. (*) indicates a new species record for Brunei Darussalam. Scale bar represents 3 mm.

Figure 4. Side view showing off spire plasticity amongst Nerita species found in Brunei Darussalam. A. Nerita albicilla Linnaeus, 1758. B. Nerita litterata Gmelin, 1791. C. Nerita insculpta Récluz, 1841. D. Nerita patula Récluz, 1841. E. Nerita chamaeleon Linnaeus, 1758. F. Nerita undata Linnaeus, 1758. G. Nerita balteata Reeve, 1855. H. Nerita planospira Anton, 1838. I. Neripteron violaceum (Gmelin, 1791). J. Neripteron cornucopia (Benson, 1836). K. Vittina coromandeliana (G. B. Sowerby I, 1836). L. Neritodryas dubia (Gmelin, 1791). M. Clithon oualaniense (Lesson, 1831). N. Neripteron spirale (Reeve, 1855). O. Nerita histrio Linnaeus, 1758. P. Nerita exuvia Linnaeus, 1758. Markings on I and J: the spire hangs further midway in N. cornucopia compared to N. violaceum. Scale bar on top represents 3 mm, unless stated otherwise.