| Mangelia attenuata (Montagu, 1803) |
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Faroe and Norway to Mediterranean. Predator in the infralittoral - upper circalittoral, on fine, gravelly or muddy sands. Also reported on stony bottoms (Taslé in Giard, 1886).
Original taxon: Murex attenuatus.
Synonyms: gracilis, vulpina…
This species can be remarkably slender. « Shell fusiformy oblong, attenuated at each end » ( Sowerby, 1843. In subadult specimens, the aperture takes about half of the total height; it is smaller in older ones. Spiral sculpture made of engraved thin striae. Radial sculpture made of fine, sharp, slightly sinuous longitudinal folds, separated from each other by larger interspaces.
50m deep, coral bottom, Almería, Andalucia, S. Spain. 10,4mm. |
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| Tall-spired specimen, very slender and relatively unusual, as it lacks the subsutural spiral on the last whorl. 8m deep, Kolokitha channel, Elounda, Lassithi, N. Crete. 12mm. |
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| 6m deep, Saronikos Gulf, Attikí, E. Greece. 8,2mm. |
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| Saint-Gervais beach, Fos-sur-Mer, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence, S. France. 7,5-10,5mm. E. Vial legit (FR). |