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.

Phylogeny: The Blackberry Drupe, Claremontiella nodulosa (C. B. Adams, 1845), is a is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Muricidae Family of Rock Shells. The genus Claremontiella is one of one hundred ninety-eight genera in this family, and there are four species in this genus. This is a relatively new genus, created in 2019, and named after the researcher Martine Claremont. In Mexican they are known as Drupa de la Mora.

Description: Blackberry Drupe shells are slender and have seven whorls. They have a high spire and 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.

Habitat and Distribution: Blackberry Drupes are found on, and under, rocks in the intertidal zone and to depths up to 3 m (10 feet). They are a tropical Western Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Central Pacific species. In Mexican waters they are found along the entire east coast and along the west coast from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, to Guatemala. They are found throughout the Gulf of California.

Ecology and Behavior: Blackberry Drupes are a poorly studied and understood species. There is very limited documentation of their diet, predation, reproduction or ecosystem interactions. Other species in family are predators that feed primarily on shelled invertebrates, and are preyed upon by sea stars, crabs, and fish. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. There is no mention in the available literature of them engaging in any types of parasitic, commensal, or symbiotic relationships. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated however they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: Drupa nodulosa, Evokesia ferruginosa, Morula (Morula) nodulosa, Morula ferruginosa, Morula nodulosa, Pascula ferruginosa, Purpura nodulosa, Ricinula ferruginosa, Ricinula nodulosa, Sistrum nodulosum, and Trachypollia nodulosa.