Euplica varians
Encyclopedia
Euplica varians is a species
of sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae
, the dove snails. It is known as Momi in Hawaii, which translates to "pearl". The shells of this species are commonly used in lei
s in Ni'ihau.
and Australia
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of sea snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk in the family Columbellidae
Columbellidae
Columbellidae, common name the "dove snails" or "dove shells" are a family of minute to small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the clade Neogastropoda.-Distribution:...
, the dove snails. It is known as Momi in Hawaii, which translates to "pearl". The shells of this species are commonly used in lei
Lei
Lei may refer to:* Lei, the plural form of Leu, the name of two currencies. See Romanian leu and Moldovan leu* Lei , a Hawaiian flower necklace* Lei , a Chinese name* Lei, Italy, a town in Sardinia...
s in Ni'ihau.
Distribution
This species is found in the Indian Ocean along the East African coast and along northern KwaZuluNatal, in the Indo-West PacificIndo-West Pacific
The Indo-West Pacific, or IWP, is a zoogeographical region spanning the entire Indian Ocean including the Red Sea and the Pacific Ocean as far as the Caroline Islands but short of the Marshall Islands...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.