| Tritia mutabilis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
 |
Galicia to Black Sea, to Mauritania, Northern Red Sea. Worn specimens have been recorded from the SW. France.
Scavenger in infralittoral and upper circalittoral soft bottoms.
Original taxon: Buccinum mutabile.
40m deep, on sand, San Carles de la Ràpita, Tarragona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. 29,7mm. |
 |
Synonyms: foliorum and foliosum, gibbum, inflatum, jaspideum, adriatica, helvetica…
On sand at Límnos island, N. Aegean.
Original picture provided by R. Pillon for WoRMS.
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
 |
Nassa mutabilis in W. Kobelt: Iconographie der schalentragenden europäischen Meeresconchylien vol. II, Cassel 1887, plates XXI and XXII.
The species « prefers calm, shallow water and is usually found in large numbers. » – W. Kobelt: op. cit. p.124. |
 |
Named variants: curta, minor, minuscula…
10m deep, on sand, Donoratico, Toscana, W. Italy. 26mm. |
 |
| 25m deep, Alger bay, Algeria. 16-18,5mm. |
 |
| Trawled off Pozzuoli, Napoli, Campania, W. Italy. 27mm. |
 |
| 10m deep, in the channel, off the spiaggia di Giorgino, Cagliari. Fully adult, dwarf. Notice the unusual pattern, made of spirally arranged subquadrate brown blotches: it is quite common in Sardinia, but remains rare outside. 9mm. |
 |
| Periostracum stained in black by the anoxic environment. |
 |
| Sant Pere Pescador, Golf de Roses, Girona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. Original picture provided by B. Garrigós for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |
 |
As the epithet suggests, mutabilis is very variable.
Grau de la Vieille Nouvelle, Gruissan. 28-37mm. |
 |
| A specimen crawling in the harbour of Marseillan, Hérault, Occitania, S. France. – Original picture provided by J. Renoult for iNaturalist.org – (CC BY-NC). |
 |
| A juvenile in tank. Notice how the foot is bifurcated posteriorly, and bears two terminal tentacles (a feature that may be shared by many, if not all, members of the family). Original picture provided by E. Kampouropoulos (GR) – (CC BY-NC-SA). |
 |
| On the sand bank north of Espiguette Point, Le Grau-du-Roi, Gard, Occitania. Original picture provided by P. Girard for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |