Relevant Synonyms Cerithium lacteum Kiener, 1841 Misidentification -  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell high-spired, fusiform with 12-14 rather flat sided whorls, of porcellaneous aspect; middle part of spire more parallel sided than the apical end. Sculpture of 4-5 beaded spiral cords and of minute striae between the cords. Several flat varixes along the spire, usually one of them opposite the aperture. Body whorl rounded with beaded spiral cords becoming more crowded on the base. Outer lip smooth inside, hardly thickened outside. Siphonal canal short and broadly open. color : white, with faint yellowish spots along spiral rows. common size : Mediterranean specimens 14 mm, up to 22 mm in the Indo-Pacific. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS This species is distinctive by its porcelaneous aspect. The only possible confusion with native species is with some morphs of C. lividulum Risso, 1826, but these are darker with brown-green mottles and do not have that glossy surface. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Larvae are planktotrophic, ensuring long-distance dispersal. habitat : in the Indo-Pacific, C. nesioticum is found in shallow water habitats of well-oxygenated locations, on mixed bottoms of sand and rock, or sandy pockets of rocky nearshore bottoms (Houbrick, 1992). It may be a dominant species in such environments of the Red Sea.

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1977 [1971]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and throughout the Tropical Western Pacific (Houbrick, 1992). Mediterranean: recorded in 1971 from Shiqmona, Israel (one shell: Mienis, 1977) then from Ayia Napa, Cyprus (Bogi et al., 1989). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Extremely rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Possibly via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Bogi C., Cianfanelli S. and Talenti E., 1989. La malacofauna dell'Isola di Cipro. Atti Prima Giornata di Studi Malacologici CISMA: 187-214. Houbrick R.S., 1992. Monograph of the genus Cerithium Bruguière in the Indo-Pacific (Cerithiidae: Prosobranchia). Smithsonian contributions to Zoology, 510: 1-211 [C. nesioticum pp. 121-126]. Mienis H.K., 1977. Cerithium nesioticum Pilsbry and Vanatta, 1906, another Indo-Pacific species from the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Conchiglie, 13(1-2): 45.   Pilsbry H.A. and Vanatta E.G., 1906. On some Pacific Cerithiidae. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 57: 787-789. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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