Polinices lacteus

Polinices lacteus is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Naticidae, the moon snails.^[1]

Polinices lacteus
Polinices lacteus shell
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Naticidae
Genus:	Polinices
Species:	P. lacteus
Binomial name
Polinices lacteus (Guilding, 1834)
Synonyms
Natica candidissima Récluz, 1851 Natica caribaea Philippi, 1851 Natica lactea (Guilding, 1834) Natica ochrostoma Récluz, 1850 Natica pfeifferi Philippi, 1851 Natica porcelana d'Orbigny, 1840 Natica puella Philippi, 1852 Natica rodatzii Philippi, 1851 (junior synonym) Natica sanctivincentii Brooks, 1933 Naticina lactea Guilding, 1834 (original combination) Polinices porcelanus (d'Orbigny, 1840) Polynices lacteus (Guilding, 1834)

Distribution

Polinices lacteus specimens have been found throughout the southern Atlantic coastlines. This includes the Caribbean Sea, as well as the Canary Islands, the Angolan coast, and the Cape Verde island chain. The species has also been spotted on almost the entirety of the South American coast, plus the Gulf of Mexico.^[2]

Description

The maximum recorded shell length is 40 mm.^[3] Operculum is thin, horny, yellow or amber-red. (R.Tucker Abbott -1968- "Seashells of North America") Periostracum is thin, yellowish.

Habitat

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m; maximum recorded depth is 120 m.^[3]