Hyala vitrea

(Montagu, 1803)

Description (shell):
Shell tall, narrow, distinctly cyrtoconoid and semitransparent. The sides of the basal half of the shell are nearly parallel (discounting the curvature of the whorls), but bend to the rather blunt apex. Suture between penult and last whorl is very deep, often cutting into shell profile closer to shell axis than that between antepenult and penult whorls. Last whorl occupies 60 % of shell height. Surface without costae and usually also without apparent spiral ridges. If any spiral ridges occur they are extremely weakly developed. Aperture occupies about 35 % of shell height.

Size:
Up to 3 x 1.5 mm.

Colour:
The yellow colour resides in the periostracum, the shell below being white.

Animal:
Posterior end of foot cleft medially.

Habitat:
Lives on muddy-sandy bottoms from 10 to 50 m deep.

Distribution:
Distributed from the Mediterranean north to Norway but is recently recorded only from a few Scottish and western Irish localities where it may be locally not uncommon (Distr. H. vitrea).

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