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less brown


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with eggs
 




 
Bullina vitrea
Pease, 1860
 
Bullina vitrea: shell
Maximum size:  12 mm shell length (Severns, 2011).

Identification:  This species has a beige-white shell with one or two spiral black or brown lines (the apical often divided). The lines vary in development, perhaps increasing in prominence with age. The shell is more slender than the shell of Bullina lineata. The animal is cream densely flecked with opaque white.

Natural history:  Bullina vitrea is a rare species known from only a few animals found in sand at depths of < 1 m (< 3 ft) (Kay, 1979). However, shells have been dredged to depths of 70 m (230 ft) (Severns, 2011). The live animals were found in a shallow tide pool, at night. Its egg mass is an irregularly coiled white tube that may be carried for a time before it's anchored.

Distribution:  Oahu and Kauai: widely distributed in the western & central Pacific.

Taxonomic notes:  It was first reported from Hawaii in Pease, 1860.

Photo:  Graham Talaber: Salt Pond, Hanapepe, Kauai; Feb. 19, 2025.

Observations and comments:

Note 1:  ( )
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