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rocky shore

Nerites Nerita sp. Family Neritidae Nerite snails are common on the rocky shore. On warm days, they are usually gathered in a shady nook, sometimes in large groups. On a cool morning or evening, you might see them creeping about. Tough Nerite to Crack: The Nerite has a thick shell. A sturdy chalky operculum provides a secure seal. The operculum has an internal peg to lock firmly in place against the teeth at the shell opening. This makes it difficult for a crab to stick a pincer in and dig out the snail. It also protects against water loss during low tide. Nerites usually stay above the high tide line. This is probably to avoid being eaten by crabs and fish. The Common Nerite (Nerita lineata) appear to return to the same spot after a feeding bout. Some colourful Nerites are hard to spot as they blend well with the rocks they are found on. Nerite food: Nerites graze the algae that thrive on the rocks, scraping this off with their radula. They also eat lichen growing there. Nerite babies: Nerites have separate genders and engage in internal fertilisation. They have a complex reproductive system to achieve this, and to produce nutrition-packed eggs in protective capsules. The white circular egg capsules are sometimes seen in rock pools, under rocks and in moist crevices. Each egg capsule may have more than 30 eggs. These hatch into free-swimming larvae that only later settle down to develop into snails.	Common nerite Chameleon nerite Chameleon nerite Chameleon nerite Mating Nerites and egg capsules

quick facts
About 2cm, common on the rocky shore

Classification:
Class Gastropoda
Phylum Mollusca

See also ...
Molluscs in general
Gastropods in general

Links
Neritidae on The Gladys Archerd Shell Collection at Washington State University Tri-Cities Natural History Museum website: brief fact sheet on Nerites with photos

Other references

Tan, K. S. & L. M. Chou, 2000. A Guide to the Common Seashells of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre. 160 pp.
Ng, Peter K. L. & N. Sivasothi, 1999. A Guide to the Mangroves of Singapore II (Animal Diversity). Singapore Science Centre. 168 pp. online version
Tan, Leo W. H. & Ng, Peter K. L., 1988. A Guide to Seashore Life. The Singapore Science Centre, Singapore. 160 pp. online version
Fiene-Severns, Pauline, Mike Severns and Ruth Dyerly, 2000. Periplus Nature Guides: Tropical Seashells. Periplus Editions. 64pp.
Woodward, Fred, 1993. Identifying Shells. The Apple Press, London. 80 pp.
Abbott, Tucker R., 1991. Seashells of South East Asia. Graham Brash, Singapore. 145 pp.
Morten, Brian & John Morten, 1983. The Sea Shore Ecology of Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press. 350 pp.

a companion website to the chek jawa guidebook website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com

a companion website to the chek jawa guidebook
website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com