---
title: "Common Periwinkle"
description: "Littorina littorea — Altri animali. The common periwinkle or winkle (Littorina littorea) is a species of small whelk or sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc that has gills and an operculum, and is classified within the family Littorinidae, the periwinkles."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/common-periwinkle
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Common Periwinkle

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

- Scientific name: *Littorina littorea*
- Category: `other` (Altri animali)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mare e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 22739
- Wikidata: [Q27935](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27935)
- iNaturalist taxon: [81606](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/81606)

## Names

- en: Common Periwinkle
- de: Gemeine Strandschnecke
- es: Bígaro común
- fr: Bigorneau
- nl: Gewone alikruik
- pt: Caramujo
- pl: Pobrzeżka pospolita

## Countries with the most observations

US (8521), CA (5187), GB (3165), DE (667), FR (607), DK (517), NO (443), IE (316), NL (211), SE (193), ES (100), PT (94)

## Summary

The common periwinkle or winkle (Littorina littorea) is a species of small 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.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_periwinkle

## Photo

![Common Periwinkle](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/common-periwinkle/medium.jpg)

Photo: Sam Allon · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67092446

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/common-periwinkle?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).