Simnialena uniplicata

Simnialena uniplicata, common name the one-tooth simnia, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries.^[1] It lives on the sea whip, Leptogorgia virgulata.

Simnialena uniplicata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Ovulidae
Genus:	Simnialena
Species:	S. uniplicata
Binomial name
Simnialena uniplicata (Sowerby, 1849)
Synonyms[1]
Cyphoma uniplicata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1849) Neosimnia uniplicata (Sowerby II, 1849) Ovula antillarum Reeve, 1865 Ovula carolinensis Moerch, 1877 Ovulum subrostratum Sowerby, 1948 Ovulum uniplicatum G. B. Sowerby II, 1849 Simnia uniplicata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1849) Simnialena marferula C. N. Cate, 1973

Description

The shell of is shiny and smooth, and the shape of an elongated egg, with a flat base which shows a long, narrow, slit-like aperture. The shell grows to 2 cm long and the coil of the typical gastropod shell is not visible. The colour varies from ivory white to pink. The maximum recorded shell length is 21 mm.^[2]

Distribution

Simnialena uniplicata occurs in shallow water on the eastern coast of the United States, Colombia, Jamaica and Brazil.^[3] Minimum recorded depth is 0 m.^[2] Maximum recorded depth is 116 m.^[2]

Ecology

Simnialena uniplicata has a symbiotic relationship with the sea whip Leptogorgia virgulata on which it lives. The snail's white colour is derived from the pigments it absorbs and which it incorporates into its shell after eating debris from the coral.^[4]