Superfamily Tonnoidea Subfamily Cassinae Rank Species | ||
Similar Cassis, Cassis tuberosa, Cassis madagascariensis, Cassis tessellata, Cypraecassis testiculus | ||
Cassis flammea is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails.
Contents
Distribution
Cassis flammea is found in Florida, the Caribbean, and Bahamas. Its abundance has decreased due to overcollecting in some areas.
Description
It has a shell with shades of reddish-brown with wavy stripes. There are dark stripes on the outer lip of the shell. The lip around the aperture forms a triangle shape. The shell may reach a maximum of 7 inches in length. The shell may be covered by algae or other sessile marine organisms.
The maximum recorded shell length is 154 mm.
Habitat
Cassis flammea inhabits shallow tropical waters, in the depth range of 10 to 35 ft, usually in the sand around reefs.
Minimum recorded depth is 1 m. Maximum recorded depth is 12 m.
Feeding habits
These sea snails feed on sea urchins, which they typically hunt at night.