MarLIN Marine Information Network Information on the and habitats around the coasts and sea of the British Isles

Common 's foot ( pespelecani)

MarLIN – Marine Life Information Network Marine Evidence–based Sensitivity Assessment (MarESA) Review

Tracy Heath

2008-04-17

A report from: The Marine Life Information Network, Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Please note. This MarESA report is a dated version of the online review. Please refer to the website for the most up-to-date version [https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1920]. All terms and the MarESA methodology are outlined on the website (https://www.marlin.ac.uk)

This review can be cited as: Heath, T.A. 2008. Aporrhais pespelecani Common pelican's foot. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. (eds) Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.17031/marlinsp.1920.1

The information (TEXT ONLY) provided by the Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own terms and conditions and they may or may not be available for reuse. Permissions beyond the scope of this license are available here. Based on a work at www.marlin.ac.uk (page left blank) Date: 2008-04-17 Common pelican's foot (Aporrhais pespelecani) - Marine Life Information Network

See online review for distribution map

Aporrhais pespelecani. Distribution data supplied by the Photographer: Jack Sewell Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). To Copyright: Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA) interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.

Researched by Tracy Heath Refereed by Admin Authority (Linnaeus, 1758) Other common - Synonyms - names

Summary

 Description A gastropod with a tall slender shell with a distinct pointed apex. The outside of the shell is sandy in colour and the inside is pearly white. The outer lip and the edge of the shell opening are darker in colour. The shell can be up to 4.5 cm tall (measured from the tip of the spire to tip of fifth lobe) and 3 cm wide (measured to edge of outer lip). In mature shells the aperture (shell opening) is dominated by the outer lip, that expands into a plate shape like the webbed foot of a bird. The outer lip of the aperture fans out into five bluntly rounded points, of which the first is fused to and extends half way along the length of the spire. Lobes 2-4 form points on the expansion, the fifth projects from the base and curves slightly towards the shell opening. The shell consists of up to 8-10 whorls which have thick knobs and finer spinal ridges. The last whorl occupies about half of the shells height. The snails body has a long tapering snout with tentacles each with a basal eye. The foot is shield shaped and narrow with a point at the posterior end. The flesh is mainly white with yellow flecks on the snout and tentacles.

 Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Recorded from various locations around the British Isles.

 Global distribution Recorded from northern Norway and Iceland to the Mediterranean.

https://www.marlin.ac.uk/habitats/detail/1920 3 Date: 2008-04-17 Common pelican's foot (Aporrhais pespelecani) - Marine Life Information Network

 Habitat Sublittoral only, common on mud and muddy sand to offshore depths of 180 m.

 Depth range -

 Identifying features

The thick margin around the shell fans out into five bluntly rounded points, resembling the webbed foot of a bird. Tall spire with up to 10 whorls which posses thick knobs and finer spiral ridges. Shell glossy and cream or sandy in colour, often with a purplish stain on the back of the last whorl. The outer lip and the edge of the shell opening are darker in colour. Inside surfaces are pearly white. Up to 45 mm tall and 30 mm wide.

 Additional information The sipunculid Phascolion strombi sometimes inhabits empty shells of Aporrhais (Fish & Fish, 1996).

 Listed by

 Further information sources

Search on:     NBN WoRMS

https://www.marlin.ac.uk/habitats/detail/1920 4 Date: 2008-04-17 Common pelican's foot (Aporrhais pespelecani) - Marine Life Information Network

Bibliography

Fish, J.D. & Fish, S., 1996. A student's guide to the seashore. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Graham, A., 1988. Molluscs: prosobranchs and pyramellid gastropods (2nd ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill/Dr W. Backhuys. [Synopses of the British Fauna No. 2] Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins. Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.] JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), 1999. Marine Environment Resource Mapping And Information Database (MERMAID): Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database. [on-line] http://www.jncc.gov.uk/mermaid Picton, B.E. & Costello, M.J., 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. [CD- ROM] Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin. Thorson, G., 1946. Reproduction and larval development of Danish marine bottom invertebrates, with special reference to the planktonic larvae in the Sound (Øresund). Meddelelser fra Kommissionen for Danmarks Fiskeri- Og Havundersögelser, Serie: Plankton, 4, 1-523.

Datasets

Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, 2018. Ulster Museum Marine Surveys of Northern Ireland Coastal Waters. Occurrence dataset https://www.nmni.com/CEDaR/CEDaR-Centre-for-Environmental-Data-and-Recording.aspx accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-25. Cofnod – North Wales Environmental Information Service, 2018. Miscellaneous records held on the Cofnod database. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/hcgqsi accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2018. Mollusc (marine) data for Great Britain and Ireland - restricted access. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/4bsawx accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2018. Mollusc (marine) data for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25. Fenwick, 2018. Aphotomarine. Occurrence dataset http://www.aphotomarine.com/index.html Accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01 Merseyside BioBank., 2018. Merseyside BioBank (unverified). Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/iou2ld accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01. Merseyside BioBank., 2018. Merseyside BioBank Active Naturalists (unverified). Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/smzyqf accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org. OBIS (Ocean Biogeographic Information System), 2019. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2019-03-12 Outer Hebrides Biological Recording, 2018. Invertebrates (except insects), Outer Hebrides. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/hpavud accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

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