Blackberry Drupe Shell, Claremontiella nodulosa

Blackberry Drupe Shell, Claremontiella nodulosa. Size: 1.9 cm (0.7 inches) x 1.0 cm (0.4 inches). Shell collected from within the estuary of the Magdalena Bay complex, Baja California Sur, October 2018. Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Blackberry Drupe, Claremontiella nodulosa (Reeve, 1846), is a is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Muricidae Family of Rock Shells. This shell is slender and has seven whorls, high spires, an elongated aperture. The exterior of the shell is covered with nodes. The outside of the shell varies in color from white to dark gray or black, with varying amounts of brown blotches. The interior is white with blueish and brown markings. The Blackberry Drupe reaches a maximum of 2.5 cm (1.0 inch) in length and 1.3 cm (0.5 inches) in height.

Blackberry Drupes are found on, and under, rocks in the intertidal zone to depths up to 3 m (10 feet). They range from Magdalena Bay to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur and they are found throughout the Sea of Cortez.

Synonyms include: Drupa nodulosa, Evokesia ferruginosa, Morula ferruginosa, Pascula ferruginosa, Ricinula ferruginosa, and Trachypollia nodulosa.