Coffee Bean Shell, Pusula pediculus

Coffee Bean Shell, Pusula pediculus, Dark Morph. Shell collected off the beach in the greater Punta Chivato area, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, February 2023. Size: 8.5 mm (0.3 inches) x 6.0 mm (0.2 inches) x 4.5 mm (0.2 inches) Collection, photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Coffee Bean Shell, Pusula pediculus. Shell collected off the beach in the greater Punta Chivato area, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, February 2023. Size: 8.5 mm (0.3 inches) x 6.0 mm (0.2 inches) x 4.5 mm (0.2 inches). Collection, photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Coffee Bean Shell, Pusula pediculus. Shell collected off the beach in the greater San Diego area, April 2015. Size: 1.1 cm (0.4 inches) x 0.9 cm (0.4 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Coffee Bean, Pseudopusula californiana (Gray, 1828), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Triviidae Family of False Cowries or Trivias. They are also known as the California Trivia and the Coffee Bean Trivia and in Mexico as trivia californiano.

The Coffee Bean Shells are small in stature that have twelve strong spiral ribs that cross the shell, stopping an leaving a narrow mid-ventral gap at the apex of the dorsal surface, an internal spire with a curved slit-like aperture that has toothed lips. The exterior of the shell is a dark purplish brown color with a light gray gap. For live animals their mantle covers most of the shell. The Coffee Bean Shell reach a maximum of 1.3 cm (0.5 inches) in length and 0.9 cm (0.4 inches) in height.

Coffee Beans are found under rocks in the intertidal zone at depths up to 15 m (50 feet). They are predatory carnivores that are known to prey on compound tunicates and specifically sea squirts. They are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean south to Acapulco, Guerrero but are absent from the northern parts of the Sea of Cortez.

The Coffee Bean Shell is very similar to Solander’s Trivia Shell, Trivia solandri (larger in stature with ribs that do not cross the midline).

Coffee Bean Shell, Pusula pediculus, on the right, versus Solander’s Trivia Shell, Trivia solandri. Photograph courtesy of Bob Hillis, Irvins, Utah.

The Coffee Bean mollusk is not suitable for aquarium use.

Synonyms include Cypraea californiana, Cypraea californica, Pusula californiana, Pusula californica, and Trivia californiana.