nerita

[Lat., from Gr. nëritës, nëreitēs =a kind of shell; neros =wet; Fr. nérite.] 1. Zool .: The typical genus of the family Neritidæ (q. v.). The shell has a horny epidermis, a thick outer lip, toothed within, and a broad and flat columella, the inner side straight and toothed. They are found in the littoral zone of all warm seas. One hundred and sixteen species have been described. 2. Palæont.: Commences in the Lias. nër-ite, s . [NERITA.] Zobl.: Any individual of the genus Nerita. "The true Nerites are inhabitants of warm seas."Nicholson: Paleont ., ii. 25. sin, aş; expect, Xenophon, exist. ph = f. -sious = shus. -ble. -dle, . = bel, del. IMG:content-1646.png:[ocr errors] neritidæ ně-rit'-I-dæ, s. pl. [Lat. nerit (a); fem. pl. adj. suff. -ide.] 1. Zoology : A family of holostomatous proso branchiate gasteropods.; Shell thick, globular, with very small spire; aperture semilunate; operculum shelly, sub-spiral, articulated to the shell by a hinge-like proce . Chief recent genera, Nerita, Neritina, and Nav i cell a. 2. Palæont.: From the Jura ic period onward, attaining its maximum in the present day.