{{Short description|Species of gastropod}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Speciesbox | image = Simnia spelta (Linnaeus, 1758) 1.jpg | image_caption = a live ''Simnia spelta'' on soft coral ''Leptogorgia sarmentosa'' | genus = Simnia | species = spelta | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms_ref = <ref name="WoRMS" /> | synonyms = * ''Amphiperas (Simnia) secale'' <small>(G.B. Sowerby I, 1828)</small> *''Bulla spelta'' <small>Linnaeus, 1758</small> *''Neosimnia spelta'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> * ''Neosimnia spelta spelta'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> *''Ovula acicularis'' <small>Tryon, 1885</small> *''Ovula intermedia'' <small>Tryon, 1885 not Lamarck, 1810 </small> * † ''Ovula leathesi'' <small>sensu Tryon, 1885 not J. de C. Sowerby, 1824</small> * ''Ovula lutea'' <small>Pallary, 1900</small> * ''Ovula obsoleta'' <small>Locard, 1892</small> * ''Ovula rosea'' <small>Pallary, 1900</small> * ''Ovula roseocarnea'' <small>Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1883</small> * ''Ovula sowerbyana'' <small>sensu Tryon, 1885 not Weinkauff, 1881</small> * ''Ovula spelta'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> * ''Ovula spelta var. lutea'' <small>Pallary, 1900</small> * ''Ovula spelta var. lutea-rosea'' <small>Pallary, 1900</small> * ''Ovula spelta var. lutea-roseocarnea'' <small>Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1883</small> * ''Ovula triticea'' <small>Lamarck, 1810 sensu Payraudeau, 1826</small> (misapplication) * ''Ovulum obtusum'' <small>G. B. Sowerby I, 1828</small> (junior synonym) * ''Ovulum secale'' <small>G. B. Sowerby I, 1828</small> (junior synonym) * ''Phenacovolva (Pellasimnia) obtusa obtusa'' <small>(G.B. Sowerby I, 1828)</small> * ''Simnia nicaeensis'' <small>Risso, 1826</small> * ''Simnia nicaoensis'' <small>sensu J. Allan, 1956 not Risso, 1826</small> (misspelling [by Allan, J. 1956]...) * ''Simnia spelta var. brevis'' <small>Coen, 1949</small> }}
'''''Simnia spelta''''' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, which are cowrie allies sometimes called "false cowries".<ref name="WoRMS">{{WRMS species|478341|''Simnia spelta'' (Linnaeus, 1758)|||Gofas, S. (2010). ''Simnia spelta'' (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at <nowiki>http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=478341</nowiki> on 5 June 2010}}</ref> It was first described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus.
==Description== left|thumb|''Simnia spelta'' shells. ''Simnia spelta'' grows to a length of about {{convert|20|mm|1|abbr=on}}. The shell is roughly egg or cigar-shaped with a flattened base. It is strong, thick, smooth and glossy, with inrolled edges at the sides of the long aperture on the underside. The colouring varies according to the species of gorgonian on which it is living.<ref name=Doris/> The background colour of the shell is white, yellow, pink or orange, often with white spots or dark spots, marbling or streaks, providing camouflage. As is commonly the case in ''Simnia'' species, the colour of all the visible soft parts normally matches the colour of the gorgonian on which the snail is grazing, as the pigment from the gorgonian is retained in the mantle of the mollusk.<ref name=Doris/>
==Distribution== ''Simnia spelta'' was at one time considered to be endemic to the western Mediterranean Sea and the Adriatic Sea, but it is now known to occur also in the eastern Atlantic Ocean between the Bay of Biscay, the Canary Islands and Angola. Its normal habitat is living on gorgonians, or sea fans, at depths down to about {{convert|10|m}}.<ref name=Doris>{{cite web |url=http://doris.ffessm.fr/fiche2.asp?fiche_numero=310 |title=''Simnia spelta'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |author1=Reguieg, Aedwina |author2=Sittler, Alain-Pierre |author3=Müller, Yves |language=French |date=27 November 2014 |work=DORIS |accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref>
==Ecology== ''Simnia spelta'' is a specialist predator on gorgonians of the genera ''Eunicella'', ''Paramuricea'' and ''Lophogorgia''. It feeds on the polyps and the coenenchyme, the living connective tissue that surrounds the horny skeleton, but does not graze excessively and therefore does not kill its host. The sexes are separate in this species, and fertilisation is internal. Eggs are laid on the branches of the host species and resemble the natural warty appearance of the stems.<ref name=Doris/>
The white gorgonian ''Eunicella singularis'' is one of the sea fans with which this snail associates. On this host the snail is normally white and mimics the twigs in appearance. It feeds and lays its eggs on the gorgonian branches.<ref name=Dumas/> Afterwards, epibionts grow on the denuded branches.<ref name=Dumas>{{cite web |url=http://doris.ffessm.fr/fiche2.asp?fiche_numero=239 |title=''Eunicella singularis'' (Esper, 1791) |author1=Dumas, Jacques |author2=Maran, Vincent |author3=Ader, Denis |author4=Huet, Sylvie |language=French |date=27 January 2014 |work=DORIS |accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{sealifephotos|478341}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7518054}}
Category:Ovulidae Category:Gastropods described in 1758 Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Fauna of the Adriatic Sea Category:Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean