APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

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Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell ventral view 1

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell ventral view 2

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell lateral view 1

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell lateral view 2

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell dorsal view 1

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell dorsal view 2

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell with ruler 1

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell with ruler 2

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell ventral view 3

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dead shell dorsal view 3

Wandering Triton
Ranella olearium
- dorsal and ventral views 1

The F++/F+++ quality specimen above is approx. 146mm in length. It was live collected by fishermen off Santa Maria di Leuca, off the heel of Italy. The specimen was trawled from a depth of between 40 and 60m. The specimen has been obtained for reference purposes and for photography. 29.04.20.

The species appears on APHOTOMARINE because the species has been caught on a number of occasions in deep water off the coast of Ireland. A dead shell, 124 x 70mm, was trawled west of the New Ground in 50 fathoms, May 1968. The species had already been taken in 1930, 1911 and 1915, the latter was a record of 5 live specimens. Several living specimens were also reported in 1968 from a depth of 50 and 100 fathoms between St. David's Head and Carnsore Point, Ireland.

This species is widely distributed in the Mediterranean, and occurs in the Azores, Canaries, and north-east Atlantic, its northern limit being S.W. Ireland. The Wandering Triton is also called the Little Frog Triton and Olive Trumpet.

Original Name: Murex olearium Linnaeus, 1758
Synonymised name: Argobuccinum (Ranella) giganteum var. rarituberculata Settepassi, 1970

I am very grateful to Simon Taylor of the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland for sending me a copy of the paper by C. E. O'Riordan.

Ref:
O'Riordan C.E., TWO SPECIES OF GASTROPOD MOLLUSCA NEW TO THE IRISH FAUNA. National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, 2. (Read before the Society, 16 October 1971).
Massy, A.L., 1930. Mollusca of the Irish Atlantic Slope. Proc. R. Ir. Acad. 39B: 232-342.
McMillan, N.F., 1968. British Shells. Warne, London.
Standen, R., 1915. [Exhibits] J. Conch 14: 366.

APHOTOMARINE supports open source data recording and sharing for the benefit of wildlife, recorders, research, science and education. The project recommends the following websites and works with the following bodies and organisations.

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.