Olivella biplicata
| Olivella biplicata | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Olivella biplicata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): |
clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Olivoidea |
| Family: | Olivellidae |
| Genus: | Olivella |
| Species: | O. biplicata |
| Binomial name | |
|
Olivella biplicata Sowerby, 1825 |
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clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Olivella biplicata, common names the "purple dwarf olive" "purple olive shell" or "purple olivella" is a species of small predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Olivellidae, the dwarf olives.
Olivella biplicata snails are found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean coasts from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico.
This species is common on sandy substrates intertidally and subtidally, in bays and the outer coast.
These snails are carnivorous or omnivorous sand-burrowers.
This shell of this species is quite solid, and large for an Olivella, with adult shells ranging from 20 mm to 27 mm in length, about one inch. The shell is smooth, shiny, and is an elongated oval in shape. The shell is often some shade of greyish purple, but it can also be whitish, tan, or dark brown. On the darker color forms there is often some rich yellow above the suture on the spire.
At the anterior end of the long narrow aperture there is a siphonal notch, from which the siphon of the living animal protrudes.
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Wikipedia