Stomatella auricula

Description

The size of the shell varies between 5 mm and 20 mm. The shell has an elongated, rather narrow Haliotis-shape. It is smooth, polished, except for the growth lines near the lip. The body whorl is not spirally striate. Its color is golden, finely reticulated with light golden-brown, and showing several broad and narrow spiral crimson bands. The coloration is variable within wide limits. The color varies from carmine to white and even blackish, with more or less numerous white spots and often darker, articulated, spiral bands. The upper whorls are commonly of another colour than the body whorl. The outline is long and the polished surface show s no spiral striae except on the penultimate and beginning of the bpdy whorl, where fine, scarcely impressed, close spiral lines can be seen under a strong lens. A few separated impressed striae extend along the columellar margin of the base. The columellar margin is slightly bowed or concave. The upper surface has subregular radiating striae. The ground color consists of a fine zigzagged mottling of whitish and light brown, through which the underlying nacre shines with a golden iridescence. There are several narrow spiral lines articulated remotely with white dots. And on the latter part of the whorl these are replaced by bands or lines of crimson. The aperture is oblong. Its posterior angle is filled by a pearly callus. The outer lip is sinuous. The lip margin is not bowed, but in one plane. There is a slightly projecting angle where the columella joins the basal lip. So that when lying on its face the peristome is in contact with a plane surface all the way around except the median part of the columellar lip.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Indo-Pacific (Japan, Australia)