Key: Family Calyptraeidae (slipper shells)
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Subclass
Prosobranchia
Order Mesogastropoda
Suborder Taenioglossa
Taken primarily from Kozloff,
1987, 1996
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1a |
Shell conical, almost circular in outline,
with a spiral septum
(shelf) the free edge of which is twisted |
Calyptraeea fastigiata
Gould, 1846 |
1b |
Shell usually cap-shaped (sometimes nearly conical),
generally not
completely circular in outline and often slightly irregular; with a
simple
septum |
2 |
2a |
Septum attached more broadly on one side (the left
side, as the aperture
faces the observer and the shelf is uppermost), so that part of it
projects
like a tongue |
Crepidula dorsata
(Broderip, 1834) |
2b |
Septum attached to about the same extent on both sides,
its free margin
therefore nearly straight |
3 |
3a |
Shell definitely arched (often higher than wide), the
apex prominent
and beaklike; periostracum dark brown; on shells of living Tegula,
Calliostoma,
and other gastropods |
Crepidula
adunca
Sowerby, 1825 |
3b |
Shell low (never as high as wide), the apex not
prominent and often
not even distinct; exterior whitish or with a light periostracum, but
not
dark brown; frequently on empty shells of bivalves or gastropods,
including
those occupied by hermit crabs, but not attached to the shells of
living
Tegula,
Calliostoma, or other gastropods |
4 |
4a |
Apex of shell directed laterally and united with the
margin (introduced
with oysters from the Atlantic coast, and found in only a few areas) |
Crepidula fornicata
Linnaeus, 1758 |
4b |
Apex of shell directed posteriorly, often overhanging
the posterior
margin of the shell |
5 |
5a |
Shell whitish, generally almost flat, with a shaggy,
yellow-brown periostracum |
Crepidula nummaria
Gould, 1846 |
5b |
Shell whitish, almost flat, concave, or misshapen
(depending on habitat),
with a thin, brown periostracum or without any obvious periostracum
(often
in burrows of pholadid bivalves, in empty shells, and inside shells
occupied
by hermit crabs, fitting the contour of the concave surface) |
Crepidula
perforans
(Valenciennes, 1846) |
Taxonomic
Levels Represented
in This Key:
Calyptraea fastigiata
Crepidula dorsata
Crepidula
adunca
Crepidula fornicata
Crepidula nummaria
Crepidula
perforans
Page created by Dave Cowles, 7-2002
Edited by:
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