Engina mendicaria
Shell of Engina mendicaria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Pisaniidae
Genus: Engina
Species:
E. mendicaria
Binomial name
Engina mendicaria
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
  • Columbella mendicaria (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Voluta mendicaria Linnaeus, 1758

Engina mendicaria, common name striped engina or bumble bee snail, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Pisaniidae.[1]

Description

var. unilineata

The shell size varies between 10 mm and 20 mm. This shell shows a white or yellowish background with a few transversal black bands and resembles the yellow and black pattern of wasps and bees (hence a common name).

Distribution

This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Tanzania, in the tropical Indo-Pacific and Australia.

Habitat

These carnivore sea snails live on rocky shores and sand beds. They are mainly nocturnal.

References

  1. ^ a b Engina mendicaria (Linnaeus, 1758). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 5 November 2010.