Pisania striata

Pisania striata, known also as Pisania maculosa or Voluta striata (basionym) is a small gastropod of Mediterranean and the adjacent Atlantic up to the Azores Islands. It lives in the tidal zone, on the rocks covered with algae and in the waters of the harbors, often rich of decaying animal’s fragments. In fact, it is a scavenger of the sea but also a predator of small organisms. The body of the mollusk is black, like the head with its two small tentacles and the long siphon with the chemoreceptors for detecting partner, corpses and preys. The lower part of the foot, on the contrary, is almost white. The shell measures only 15-30 mm and shows, besides the dotted design, a characteristic thin streaking that has given name to the species. The biggest specimens are found along Ormos Cape in the Crete Island © Giuseppe Mazza