Notocochlis Powell, 1933

Huelsken, Thomas, Marek, Carina, Schreiber, Stefan, Schmidt, Iris & Mann, Michael Holl-, 2008, The Naticidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Giglio Island (Tuscany, Italy): Shell characters, live animals, and a molecular analysis of egg masses, Zootaxa 1770, pp. 1-40 : 22

The genus Notocochlis Powell, 1933 on Giglio Island

One species of the genus Notocochlis is found in upper infralittoral sand bottom around Giglio Island. This species was originally described as Natica dillwynii Payraudeau, 1826 , but due to its striking morphological similarity to the Pacific species Notocochlis cernica (Jousseaume, 1874) , which Kabat (1996) placed in Notocochlis , we transferred the Mediterranean species to that genus as well. N. dillwynii is a typical Mediterranean species and has been found in Spain, Northern Africa, Sicily, and the Thyrrenian Sea (Kobelt 1901, Hidalgo 1917, Schiró 1977), as well as in Turkish and Greek waters (Villa 1986, Demir 2002). It prefers coarse granular sand bottoms and debris (Villa, 1986). These bottom characteristics are often present at bluffs on Giglio Island. Bluffs with coarse-grained sand bottoms were predominantly found in the northern (Pt. del Faraglione, Pt. del Morto, Pt. delle Secche, Fenaio) and western areas (Cala dell´Allume, Scoglio del Corvo) of Giglio Islands where two specimens, several egg masses and many empty shells of this species were found. The living specimens were crawling directly under the sand surface in the sand between weeds of Posidonia oceanica , leaving a distinct trail behind. While many empty shells were found in Cala dell´Allume and Pt. del Morto, only one living specimen was found at Pt. del Morto and one was found on a bluff on the shoal Pt. delle Secche. Probably, N. dillwynii burrows deep in the sand. According to the number of empty shells found, N. dillwynii is one of the most common naticid species on Giglio Island.