Common Spire Shell

Rissoa parva is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Rissoidae.^[1]

Taxonomy

Rissoa parva ssp. interrupta var. bifasciata

The status of R. interrupta in relation to R. parva is still a point of discussion. Based on research of Wigham (1975), R. interrupta is considered by many authors as a variety of form of R. parva (Fretter & Graham, 1778; McKay & Smith, 1979). Nordsieck (1968) and Verduin (1976) think however that R. interrupta and R. parva are two different species. Both species have a sympatric appearance.^[1]

Description

Distribution

This species occurs in European waters, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. Fossils have been found in Quaternary strata of Rhodos, Greece.

References

• Da Costa E. M. (1778). Historia Naturalis Testaceorum Britanniae. London: Millan, White, Elmsley & Robson XII + 254 + VIII p., 17 pl
• Backeljau, T. (1986). Lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van België [List of the recent marine molluscs of Belgium]. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Brussels, Belgium. 106 pp.
• Harms, J., 1993. Check list of species (algae, invertebrates and vertebrates) found in the vicinity of the island of Helgoland (North Sea, German Bight) - a review of recent records. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuch. 47 1: 1-34.
• Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180–213
• Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.