Litiopa melanostoma, common name the brown Sargassum shell, is a species of very small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Litiopidae.
Distribution This species occurs in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and off the Azores; in the North Atlantic Ocean, off Newfoundland.
Description Litiopa melanostoma (Sargassum Snail) has been found to have a maximum recorded shell length of 6 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLOS One 5(1): e8776. .
Habitat The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; the maximum recorded depth is 805 m. The snail is known to live on floating beds of Sargassum.
References
Rang S. (1829). Notice sur le Litiope, Litiopa, genre nouveau de Mollusque astéropode. Annales des Sciences Naturelles 16: 303–307 page(s): 307
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