The Breeding ofLittorina neritoides

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Abstract
Littorina(Melarhaphe)neritoides(Montagu) is stated by Tattersall to be viviparous. Living usually above high-water mark, often withLittorina saxatilis(L. rudisin Plymouth Marine Fauna 1931, Marine Biological Association), it would seem at first sight that free-swimming larvæ would be useless.L. saxatilisis truly viviparous and provided with a special pouch for its young which crawl out as small individuals similar to the parent. Tattersall (1908, 1909, 1920) when he discovered the planktonic egg-capsules ofL. littorea(Caullery and Pelseneer (1910) having described them at almost exactly the same time) then regardedL. neritoidesas viviparous. He has, however, kindly sent me the statement given below. Following him many workers have also declared that this species is viviparous (Flatteley and Walton, 1922, Colman 1933 Russell, 1934 and others). It is now possible to show that, not only is it not viviparous but it lays planktonic capsules very similar to those ofL. littorea.

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