Dupont’s Dove Shell, Parametaria dupontii

Dupont’s Dove Shell, Parametaria dupontii.  Shell collected off the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, July 2015. Size: 1.6 cm (0.6 inches) x 0.8 cm (0.3 inches).

Dupont’s Dove, Parametaria dupontii (Keiner, 1846), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Columbellidae Family of Doves. They are also known as the False Cone. They resembles a Cone Shell more than they do a Dove Shell. They differ from Cones in having an operculum and different shaped radula. The shell is very thin with a smooth exterior that vary within the species as to the height and steepness of the spire. They have long apertures that are narrow the entire length and the anterior end is usually marked by a series of low grooves. The exterior color is whitish, with various lines, reticulations, mottling, and blotches of orange and yellow and/or brownish. Dupont’s Dove Shells reach a maximum of 2.8 cm (1.1 inches in length and 1.4 cm (0.6 inches) in height.

Dupont’s Dove Shells are found in rubble and on rocks in the intertidal zone to depths up to 50 m (130 feet). They are found in the Sea of Cortez, from around Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California to the Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, and along the Coast of Mexico south to Islas Tres Marias, off the coast of the State of Nayarit. They have not been documented from the West Coast of the Baja Peninsula.

Synonyms include Conus concinnulus, Conus concinnus, Conus dupontii, Meta cedonulli, and Strombus dubius.