Relevant Synonyms Notocochlis gualteriana (Récluz, 1844) Misidentification -  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell globose, with broad, rounded body whorl. Surface smooth, except for axial grooves starting from the suture and fading at some distance. Umbilicus wide, most of it occupied by a thick callus which terminates as a smooth, semicircular portion of the columella; another callus developed where the aperture meets the previous whorl. Aperture semicircular, with thin edge. Operculum calcareous, quite smooth with a narrow rim on the outer edge. color : whitish with three pale, interrupted spiral bands; inside of aperture darker with continuous dark brown bands fading at some distance from the edge or the outer lip. common size : 10-20 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The large callus in the umbilicus distinguishes this species from most native naticids; the only look-alike is Natica dillwyni Payraudeau, 1826, which has a different pattern of spiral series of crescent-shaped spots on a brownish background, and lacks the subsutural folds. The related tropical Atlantic species Natica marochiensis (Gmelin, 1791), which has several unsupported Mediterranean records, differs in having a dark spire, a less a developed parietal callus, and no subsutural folds. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Unknown. habitat : in the Indo-Pacific, this species lives in shallow water, in depressions lined with muddy sand, occasionally on sparse seagrass beds.

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 2000 [1966]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and throughout the Tropical Western Pacific. Mediterranean: recorded first in 1966 from Israel (Mienis, 2000b); later from Egypt (Giannuzzi-Savelli et al., 1997). There are few published records, but specimens supposed to come from Israel have been seen in amateur shell shows. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Possibly via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Cernohorsky W.O., 1971. The family Naticidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in the Fiji Islands. Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum, 8: 169-208 [N. gualteriana pp. 180-182]. Giannuzzi-Savelli R., Pusateri F., Palmeri A. and Ebreo C., 1997. Atlante delle conchiglie marine del Mediterraneo. Vol. 2: Caenogastropoda. La Conchiglia, Roma, 258p. Mienis H.K., 1986. A record of Natica gualteriana, an Indo-Pacific species, from the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Levantina, 60: 655.   Mienis H.K., 2000b. A second record of Notocochlis gualteriana from the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Triton, Journal of the Israel Malacological Society, 2: 24. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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