Yellow-banded Nerite Shell, Vitta luteofasciata

Yellow-banded Nerite Shell, Vitta luteofasciata. Size: 1.0 cm (0.4 inches) x 0.9 cm (0.3 inches). Shell collected off the beach of Bahía Concepción, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Phylogeny: The Yellow-banded Nerite Shell, Vitta luteofasciata (Miller, 1879), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Neritidae Family of Nerite Shells. The genus Vitta is one of thirteen genera in this family, and there are ten species in this genus. The genus Vitta comes from the Latin words for “ribbon” or “head band.” The species name luteofasciata comes from the Latin words for “yellow-striped” or “yellow-banded.” These names both emphasize the yellow bands that decorate this species.

Description: The Yellow-banded Nerite Shell is small, with a round profile. They have a low spire and a large semi-circular aperture that has a toothed inner lip. The exterior of the shell shiny and striped, spotted or blotched with yellow, blue, gray, or orange. The interior is white. The area adjacent to the inner lip is brown to golden chestnut. Yellow-banded Nerite Shells reach a maximum of 1.2 cm (0.5 inches) and 1.1 cm (0.4 inches).

Habitat and Distribution: Yellow-banded Nerites are found on rocks, mudflats, and mangroves in the intertidal zone. They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific  Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Punta Pequeña, Baja California Sur, along the central and northwest  coasts of the Baja Peninsula.

Ecology and Behavior: Yellow-banded  Nerites are herbivorous grazers that feed on algae.  They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning. Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated. However, they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: Neritina luteofasciata , Neritina picta, eritina picta var. luteofasciata, and Theodoxus luteofasciatus.