Obtusella intersecta

(Wood, 1857)

Description (shell):
Shell small, globose-conical, with a blunt tip; spire cyrtoconoid with four or five tumid, semi-transparent whorls. Sculpture of fine spiral striae and prosocline growth lines, visible with 10x hand lens. Aperture broadly oval with thin peristome; outer lip meets last whorl almost at right angles, with slight anal sinus; inner lip borders distinct umbilical groove and small umbilical chink.

Size:
Up to 2 x 1.4 mm.

Colour:
Shell uniform buff or pale horn.

Animal:
Like that of Cingula trifasciata , but more delicately built. Colour is cream with many white spots.

Habitat:
Usually on sandy bottoms or amongst algae. Not intertidal, but dredged to about 50 m depth.

Distribution:
Distributed from Iberia to Norway; absent from Baltic and southern North Sea (Distr. O. intersecta).

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