Littoraria is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles.Reid, David G. (2011). Littoraria Griffith & Pidgeon, 1834. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=206218 on 2011-04-15
There are more than fifty species in this genus of which more than 20 species are believed to be synonyms of Littoraria scabra, a very variable species.Reid, D.G. (1986). The littorinid molluscs of mangrove forests in the Indo-Pacific region. British Museum (Natural History), London
Many of the species in this genus occur in the Indo-West Pacific region and in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, where they are found in large numbers on the trunks, trees and prop roots of tropical mangrove forests a few metres above high tide level. These snails feed on the thin film of algae, epiphytes, fungi, diatoms and leaf epidermis of these mangroves. The species living on higher levels of the trees have thinner shells, and are more variable in shell colour.
Within this genus, Littoraria aberrans is the only ovoviviparous species with an intracapsular metamorphosis.
Species Species in the genus Littoraria include:
Littoraria aberrans Philippi, 1846 Littoraria ahenea Reid, 1986 Littoraria albicans Metcalfe, 1852 Littoraria angulifera Lamarck, 1822 - mangrove periwinkle Littoraria angulifera hessei Boettger 1912 Littoraria ardouiniana (Heude, 1885) Littoraria articulata Philippi, 1846 Littoraria bengalensis Reid, 2001 Littoraria carinifera Menke, 1830 Littoraria cingulata Philippi, 1846 Littoraria cingulifera Dunker, 1845 Littoraria coccinea (Gmelin, 1791) Littoraria conica Philippi, 1846 Littoraria delicatula Nevill, 1885 Littoraria filosa (G.B. Sowerby I, 1832) Littoraria fasciata Sowerby I, 1832 † Littoraria flammea Philippi, 1847 Littoraria flava King & Broderip, 1832 Littoraria flavaosa King & Broderip, 1832 Littoraria ianthostoma Stuckey & D.G. Reid, 2002 Littoraria intermedia Philippi, 1846 Littoraria irrorata Say, 1822 - marsh periwinkle Littoraria lutea Philippi, 1847 Littoraria luteola Quoy & Gaimard, 1833 † Littoraria massicardi Pacaud, 2019 Littoraria mauritiana Lamarck, 1822 Littoraria melanostoma Gray, 1839 Littoraria miodelicatula Oyama, 1950 Littoraria nebulosa Lamarck, 1822 - cloudy periwinkle Littoraria obesa Gmelin, 1791 Littoraria pallescens Philippi, 1846 Littoraria philippiana Reeve, 1857 Littoraria pintado Wood, 1820 Littoraria pintado pullata Carpenter, 1864 Littoraria planaxis Philippi, 1846 † Littoraria prevostina (Basterot, 1825) Littoraria punctata Philippi, 184 Littoraria rosewateri Reid, 1999 Littoraria scabra (Linnaeus, 1758) Littoraria sinensis Philippi, 1847 Littoraria strigata Philippi, 1846 † Littoraria subangulata (Deshayes, 1861) Littoraria subvittata Reid, 1986 Littoraria sulculosa Philippi, 1846 Littoraria tessellata Philippi, 1847 Littoraria undulata Gray, 1839 Littoraria varia Sowerby I, 1832 Littoraria variegata Souleyet, in Eydoux & Souleyet, 1852 Littoraria vespacea Reid, 1986 Littoraria zebra Donovan, 1825 - zebra periwinkle
Species brought into synonymy Littoraria dantaae Y.-F. Fang, Y.-J. Peng, G.-J. Zhang & J. He, 2012: synonym of Mainwaringia dantaae Y.-F. Fang, Y.-J. Peng, G.-J. Zhang & J. He, 2012 Littoraria glabrata Philippi, 1846 : synonym of Littoraria coccinea glabrata (Philippi, 1846) Littoraria kraussi (Rosewater, 1970): synonym of Littoraria coccinea glabrata (Philippi, 1846) Littoraria pulchra Gray, 1833: synonym of Littoraria zebra (Donovan, 1825) (junior synonym)
References
Further reading
REID, D G 1986. The Littorinid Molluscs of Mangrove Forests in the Indo-Pacific Region: the genus Littoraria. British Museum (Natural History), London. 228 pp.
Reid, D. G., P. Dyal, and S. T. Williams. "Global diversification of mangrove fauna: a molecular phylogeny of Littoraria (Gastropoda: Littorinidae)." Molecular phylogenetics and evolution 55.1 (2010): 185-201.