- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Mollusca
- Class: Gastropoda
- Subclass: Caenogastropoda
- Order: Littorinimorpha
- Superfamily: Littorinoidea
- Family: Littorinidae
- Scientific name: Littorina littorea
- Norwegian: vanlig strandsnegl
Characteristics:
The common periwinkle can grow to a height of more than 4 cm. Black, brown and grey are common colors, but white, orange and even red is not unusual. The spiral ridges are clearly visible on juveniles, but tend to be worn out as the snail grows older. The shell cone is pointing backwards.
Habitat:
It is often abundant on rocky beaches. It is most frequent in the tidal zone, but has been registered on 60 meters depth.
Distribution:
It is widely distributed in the North Atlantic Ocean, from the Barents Sea to northern Spain.