Marine Life · Winkles & Periwinkles

Pink-lipped topshell (Oxystele sinensis)

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Large pink-lipped topshell on a bed of coralline algae. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2021) – iNaturalist

Larger than the other Oxystele species. Round, blunt-spired shell with fine spiral sculpturing. Dark purple-black above. Aperture with a distinctive pink inner lip.

About 45 mm.

Lives moderately low on the shore, extending down to about 5 meters. Grazes on encrusting algae and microalgae. Together with Oxystele tigrina, it is harvested as a source of food in the Transkei.

Two Oceans: A Guide to the Marine Life of Southern Africa (2007, 2016)
Details of the bright pink inner lip. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2021) – iNaturalist
A juvenile pink-lipped topshell on top of an older one. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2021) – iNaturalist

Here, a juvenile pink-lipped topshell can be observed on a much larger one. It is recognizable thanks to its fine outer sculpturing, but more importantly the inner pink lip it display (picture below).

This interesting behaviour, of a topshell climbing on top of another one, might help the smaller specimen to alleviate the negative effects of temperature and desiccation stress during low tide on the rocky shore.

Details of the fine sculpturing and the inner pink lip on a juvenile topshell. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2021) – iNaturalist
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