General Description

Shell a round turban shape, green with white zigzag stripes. Trapdoor covering the opening (operculum) is a round dome, white on the domed side (the external side) and exhibiting a spiral pattern on the flat side. Shell up to 4 cm long.

Biology

Pacific Gulls grab Turban Shells from the shore and drop them from heights onto rocks to crack the thick shell and extract the snail. They are commercially harvested in Tasmania and empty shells are often found in Aboriginal middens. The opercula (shelly trapdoors covering the aperture) of Turban Shells, often called "cats eyes" and used in jewellery, are frequently found in abundance on beaches and are sometimes mistaken for whole snail shells due to their obvious spiral pattern. This species is one of the smaller Turban Shells of Australia.

Distribution

Southern mainland Australia and Tasmania.

Habitat

Crevices, rock pools, and subtidal rocky reefs.

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