Austrolittorina cincta is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Littorinidae, the winkles or periwinkles, found in and endemic to New Zealand.
Commonly called the brown periwinkle, or ngaeti in the Māori language.
Description Size up to 15mm in length.
(Described as Melarhaphe zelandiae)The shell is closely related to Austrolittorina unifasciata (Gray, 1826), but it is distinguished by having shorter and less convex whorls that are not as inflated. It is much darker in color, appearing uniformly blackish on the exterior and grayish-brown where the surface has been corroded; the inner part of the base is sometimes whitish. The interior is a rich, dark chocolate-brown, marked by a distinct white band below.
The spiral sculpture is much better defined than in the Australian shells, particularly on the base, where the interstices are not linear and are rendered prominent by their white coloration. Additionally, the peripheral subangulation is more clearly marked.
Distribution Although present in all parts of New Zealand, it is more common in the south. Cook, Steve De C., New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates Vol 1, Canterbury University Press, NZ 2010
References
Powell, A.W.B. 1979 New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells, Collins, Auckland Maxwell, P. A. (2009). Cenozoic Mollusca. Pp 232-254 in Gordon, D. P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. Spencer, H.G., Marshall, B.A. & Willan, R.C. (2009). Checklist of New Zealand living Mollusca. Pp 196-219. in: Gordon, D.P. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
External links Quoy, J. R. C.; Gaimard, J. P. (1832-1835). Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe: exécuté par ordre du roi, pendant les années 1826-1827-1828-1829, sous le commandement de M. J. Dumont d'Urville. Zoologie; Paris, J. Tastu, Éditeur-Imprimeur Reeve, L. A. (1857-1858). Monograph of the genus Littorina. In: Conchologia iconica, or, illustrations of the shells of molluscous animals, vol. 10, pls. 1-18 and unpaginated text. Reeve, London