Cuming’s Lyria Shell, Enaeta cumingii

Cuming’s Lyria Shell, Enaeta cumingii. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Size: 2.6 cm (1.0 inches) x 2.5 cm (1.0 inch). Collection, photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Cuming’s Lyria Shell, Enaeta cumingii. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Size: 3.4 cm (1.4 inches) x 1.7 cm (0.7 inches). Collection, photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Phylogeny: Cuming’s Lyria, Enaeta cumingii (Broderlip, 1832), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Volutidae Family of Volute Shells. The genus Enaeta is one of forty-eight genera in this species, and there are ten species in this genus. This species was named in honor of Hugh Cuming, a British natural historian collector in the 1800s who was known as the Prince of Collectors. He amassed a shell collection of over 80,000 specimens and 100,000 dried plant specimens. He collected birds, plants, reptiles and shells from Chile, Mexico, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific Ocean. Cuming custom built a yacht to support his collecting. Twenty-four species have been named in his honor.

Description: Cuming’s Lyria has an ovate profile and a narrow aperture. It  has a thickened outer lip with the columellar callus roughened above the columellar folds. The anterior folds are significantly larger than the posterior folds. This species is very similar to, and easily confused with, the Barnes’ Lyria, Enaeta barnesii (more rounded spire, less nodose ribbing). The exterior of the shell is cream to light tan to gray in color, with darker spots that may form bands. The interior is white. Cuming’s Lyria reach a maximum of 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) in length and 1.7 cm (0.7 inches) in diameter.

Habitat and Distribution: Cuming’s Lyria are found within sand substrate in the intertidal zone to undetermined depths. They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species. In Mexican waters they are found along the entire west coast, south of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur.

Ecology and Behavior: Cuming’s Lyria  are a poorly studied and understood species. There is very limited documentation of their diet, predation, reproduction or ecosystem interactions. Other species in Family Volutidae are predators that feed on mollusks and echinoderms. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually,  with internal fertilization. The eggs are laid as a sticky mass. There is no mention in the available literature of Cuming’s Lyria 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: Enaeta pendersenii, Lyria pedersenii, and Voluta cylleniformis.