Bela nebula

Bela nebula, also known as the nebular needle conch is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Mangeliidae. It is the type species of the genus Bela.

Taxonomy
Bela nebula forms probably a complex, to which Bela laevigata also belongs (Ankel 1936, Van Aartsen et al. 1984)

Description
The shell size varies between 5 mm and 14 mm, characteristic of the Bela genus, with three or four initially smooth protoconch whorls, except for the last, which features low, curved axial riblets overrun by a few rows of obsolete spiral elements, which form swollen tubercles at the intersection. The shell consists of eight or nine tumid whorls, with deep sutures. The subsutural band is often beaded. The shell shows strong, slightly curved ribs and narrow, spiral ridges and growth lines. The numerous ridges are finely beaded. The subsutural band is slightly swollen. The aperture of the shell is lanceolate and elongated, with a thin outer lip that becomes angular where it meets the body whorl. There is an anal sinus and a short, wide siphonal canal.

The colour of the shell is variable and goes from white to yellowish brown and orange.

The species breeds in spring and summer, depositing eggs in lenticular capsules.

Distribution
This species occurs on sand and muddy gravel bottoms in European waters off Belgium and the British Isles, in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean off Norway, in the Atlantic Ocean off Spain, Portugal, the Azores and Madeira and in the Mediterranean Sea