Scientific name Phalium glaucum Rank Species | ||
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Similar Phalium, Phalium areola, Cassis, Semicassis bisulcata, Phalium bandatum | ||
phalium glaucum
Phalium glaucum, common name the grey bonnet or glaucus bonnet, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails.
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Distribution
This species is widespread in the Indo-Pacific, from Eastern Africa (Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania) to Southern Japan and Melanesia.
Habitat
This species lives on sandy bottoms with seagrass meadows, in intertidal and shallow subtidal areas to a depth of about 10 m.
Description
Shell of Phalium glaucum can reach a length of 60–147 millimetres (2.4–5.8 in).
These shells are helmet shaped with a large body whorl and tiny spires. The surface of shell is smooth and uniformly greyish or pale brown. The molluscs have a white body and a large yellowish or whitish foot which is edged in reddish brown. The operculum is bright yellow and fan-shaped. Usually this sea snail buries itself in the sandy areas with the long siphon sticking out.
