Planorbid Pteropod

Heliconoides inflatus

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth5–911 m
Water temperature-2–30 °C
Best monthsSeptember
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) Saryu Mae 前朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Saryu Mae 前朝琉 · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Heliconoides inflatus is a species of sea butterfly, a type of pteropod.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Heliconoides inflatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 48 records
February: 16 records
March: 39 records
April: 53 records
May: 38 records
June: 19 records
July: 30 records
August: 54 records
September: 114 records
October: 64 records
November: 48 records
December: 54 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 5–911 m · Deepest record: 4,766 m

0–10 m: 70 records
10–20 m: 61 records
20–30 m: 13 records
30–40 m: 36 records
40–50 m: 14 records
50–60 m: 17 records
60–70 m: 51 records
70–80 m: 24 records
80–90 m: 13 records
90–100 m: 6 records
100–110 m: 14 records
110+ m: 163 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -2–30 °C

-2–0 °C: 2 records
0–2 °C: 0 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 3 records
8–10 °C: 40 records
10–12 °C: 51 records
12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 7 records
16–18 °C: 30 records
18–20 °C: 135 records
20–22 °C: 234 records
22–24 °C: 111 records
24–26 °C: 40 records
26–28 °C: 68 records
28–30 °C: 59 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Planorbid Pteropod

Other scientific names: Atlanta (Heliconoides) inflata, Atlanta inflata, Embolus inflatus, Embolus planorboides, Heliconoides inflata, Limacina inflata, Limacina miorostralis, Limacina scaphoidea, Protomedea elata, Spiratella inflata, Spiratella kautskyi, Spiratella miorostralis, Spirialis appendiculata, Spirialis miorostralis, Spirialis rostralis

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,108 open-data records from 1834 to 2023.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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