Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California

Compiled & photographed by Gary McDonald, Long Marine Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz

Chlorostoma funebralis (A. Adams, 1855)
Black Turban Snail
Mollusca: Gastropoda: Orthogastropoda: Vetigastropoda: Trochoidea: Trochidae
Geographic Range: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to Central Baja California, Mexico. Synonyms: Tegula funebralis
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Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 7 May 2008.

Description: Shell color dark purple to black. Shell smooth, rounded-conical; columella usually with 2 teeth; umbilicus closed. Sides of foot black.

Size: Up to 35mm in diameter.

Notes: Found in the middle intertidal, higher than Chlorostoma brunnea, often very abundant. Feeds on several species of algae. May live as long as 25 years. The apex of the shell is often eroded, perhaps by mechanical action, an ascomycete fungus, or other boring and rasping organisms.

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Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 7 May 2008.
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Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 3 Apr 2009.
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Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 28 Jan 2010.
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Carmel Pt., Monterey Co., CA; 28 Jan 2010.

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