Common periwinkle

Common periwinkle
Periwinkle emerging from its shell, Sweden
L. littorea on the edge of a small sandy beach in Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Littorinidae
Genus: Littorina
Species:
L. littorea
Binomial name
Littorina littorea
Synonyms
List
    • Littorina armoricana Locard, 1886
    • Littorina bartonensis Brown, 1843
    • Littorina communis Brown, 1843
    • Littorina litorea (Turton, 1819)
    • Littorina litorea var. brevicula Jeffreys, 1865
    • Littorina litorea var. paupercula Jeffreys, 1865
    • Littorina litorea var. sinistrorsa Jeffreys, 1865
    • Littorina litorea var. turrita Jeffreys, 1865
    • Littorina littorea f. intermedia Brøgger, 1901
    • Littorina littorea var. angulata Harmer, 1920
    • Littorina littorea var. antiqua Wood, 1848
    • Littorina littorea var. balteata Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1912
    • Littorina littorea var. complanata Harmer, 1920
    • Littorina littorea var. conica Harmer, 1920
    • Littorina littorea var. deformis Wood, 1848
    • Littorina littorea var. delphinula Wood, 1848
    • Littorina littorea var. distorta Harmer, 1920
    • Littorina littorea var. elegans Wood, 1848
    • Littorina littorea var. fuscofasciatus Middendorff, 1849
    • Littorina littorea var. major Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1913
    • Littorina littorea var. miniata Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1900
    • Littorina littorea var. pallida Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1900
    • Littorina littorea var. pallidefasciatus Middendorff, 1849
    • Littorina littorea var. parva Harmer, 1920
    • Littorina littorea var. picta Wood, 1848
    • Littorina littorea var. pyramidata Wood, 1848
    • Littorina littorea var. sanguinea Dautzenberg & Durouchoux, 1906
    • Littorina littorea var. truncata Harmer, 1920
    • Littorina littorea var. unicarinata Raeymaekers, 1889
    • Littorina parva Teilman-Friis, 1898
    • Littorina rudis var. aurantia Dautzenberg & P. Fischer, 1925
    • Littorina rudis var. reevei Harmer, 1921
    • Littorina sphaeroidalis Locard, 1886
    • Littorina vulgaris J. Sowerby, 1832
    • Turbo bicarinatus Woodward, 1833
    • Turbo carinatus Woodward, 1833
    • Turbo elongatus Woodward, 1833
    • Turbo litoreus Turton, 1819
    • Turbo littoreus Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
    • Turbo sulcatus Woodward, 1833
    • Turbo ustulatus Lamarck, 1822
    • Turbo ventricosus Woodward, 1833

The common periwinkle or winkle (Littorina littorea) is a species of small edible whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles.

This is a robust intertidal species with a dark and sometimes banded shell. It is native to the rocky shores of the northeastern, and introduced to the northwestern, Atlantic Ocean.