SE. USA to Brasil, Algarve to Cabo Verde, Mediterranean; antilessepsian (Aqaba). Seagrass grazer in the infralittoral, mostly on Cymodocea nodosa and Zostera marina, and not on epiphytes as usual in Nerites. THe other seasgrass Posidonia oceanica does not seem to be a selected dish for this species. In fact, « herbivory is lower on seagrass species with a low growth rate such as P. oceanica (2% of its annual production) compared to species with high growth rates such as Z. marina (7.5%) or C. nodosa (9.3%). » – Rueda & Salas, “Trophic dependence of the emerald neritid Smaragdia viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) on two seagrasses from European coasts”, ournal of Molluscan Studies vol. 73-2, 2007, p.211-214.