Common Name: Lettered Doveshell

Distribution: Abundant throughout the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region. In Australia recorded from south western Western Australia, across the tropical north, the Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef in Queensland south to the Victorian border in New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Found in intertidal and shallow subtidal habitats, on algae and under rocks. Common in rockpools. 

Additional Notes: Variable colouration, fawn with darker blotches, sometimes dark zig-zag markings, interior white. Solid shell, aperture about half shell length, spire straight in outline. Most members of this family are grazers, feeding on diatoms and other animal life on the fronds of algae. Grows to 19 mm but usually 12 mm. 

References: The Seashells of New South Wales, Des Beechey, Senior Fellow, Australian Museum, Release 25. Website at http://seashellsofnsw.org.au/Columbellidae/Pages/Euplica_scripta.htm Accessed 02/05/2019.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Euplica+scripta. Accessed 02/05/2019.