Engina mendicaria

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]

Engina mendicaria
Shell of Engina mendicaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:
Buccinoidea
Family:
Pisaniidae
Genus:
Engina
Species:
E. mendicaria
Binomial name
Engina mendicaria
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
  • Columbella mendicaria (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Voluta mendicaria Linnaeus, 1758

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. Engina mendicaria (Linnaeus, 1758). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 5 November 2010.
  • Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Mollusques testaces marins de Madagascar. Faune des Colonies Francaises, Tome III
  • Kalk, M. (1958). The fauna of the intertidal rocks at Inhaca Island, Delagoa Bay. Ann. Natal Mus. 14: 189–242
  • Richmond, M. (Ed.) (1997). A guide to the seashores of Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean islands. Sida/Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC: Stockholm, Sweden. ISBN 91-630-4594-X. 448 pp.
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