Grey top shell (Steromphala cineraria)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

A small topshell (up to 1.5 cm high and 1.7 cm across), it is bluntly conical with a oval-shaped umbilicus. The umbilicus appears as a small but deep hole on the underside of the shell. The shell has five or six whorls. It is grey to light yellowish in colour, with broad stripes of reddish-brown to purple. The apex is sometimes eroded and silvery.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Common to all British and Irish coasts.

Global distribution

-

Habitat

It is found on the lower levels of rocky shores on weed and under stones to a depth of 130 m sublittorally. It is sometimes found in rock pools higher on the shore.

Depth range

-

Identifying features

  • Small topshell with a bluntly conical shell up to 1.5 cm high and 1.7 cm across.
  • Oval-shaped umbilicus.
  • Shell has 5-6 whorls.
  • Grey to light yellowish in colour with broad reddish-brown to purple stripes.

Additional information

In Devon and Cornwall, the umbilicus may be covered by the inner lip.

Listed by

- none -

Further information sources

Search on:

Bibliography

  1. Fish, J.D. & Fish, S., 1996. A student's guide to the seashore. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  2. Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.

  3. Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  4. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  5. JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), 1999. Marine Environment Resource Mapping And Information Database (MERMAID): Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database. [on-line] http://www.jncc.gov.uk/mermaid

  6. Picton, B.E. & Costello, M.J., 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. [CD-ROM] Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin.

Datasets

  1. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  2. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2025. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2025-05-21

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Pizzolla, P.F 2002. Steromphala cineraria Grey top shell. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 21-05-2025]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1479

Last Updated: 11/10/2002