Grinning Tun Shell, Malea ringens

Grinning Tun Shell, Malea ringens, Juvenile. Size: 15.5 cm (6.1 inches) x 12.0 cm (4.7 inches). Shell provided by the commercial fisherman of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California  Sur, May 2015. Identification courtesy of Dr. Rick Batt, Coral Gables, Florida.

Grinning Tun, Malea ringens. Size: 4.6 cm (1.8 inches) x 3.3 cm (1.3 inches). Shell provided by the commercial fisherman of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California  Sur, May 2015.

Grinning Tun, Malea ringens. Shell provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Punta Chivato area, Baja California Sur, December 2022.  Size: 17.2 cm (6.8 inches) x 14.2 cm (5.6 inches) x 10.9 cm (4.3  inches). Photograph and Identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

The Grinning Tun, Malea ringens (Swainson, 1822), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Tonnidae Family of Tuns, that is known in Mexico as caracol barril and caracol bola. They are named for their aperture which looks like a large, toothy, smile. The shells are large, swollen and consist of five whorls, the spire is low, the aperture is large, heavily toothed, with a deep groove in the middle of the inner lip, and the exterior is sculpted with wide ridges that spiral down the whorls. The shells are brown, yellowish-white or white in color. Grinning Tun Shells reach a maximum of 27.0 cm (10.6 inches) in length and 22.2 cm (8.8 inches) in height.

Grinning Tuns are found over and within sand substrate in the intertidal zone to depths up to 40 m (130 feet). They range from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. They are found throughout the Sea of Cortez.

Synonyms include Buccinum ringens, Cassis ringens, Dollium crassilabre, Dollium dentatum, Dollium latilabre, Dollium personatum, Dollium plicosum, Dollium ringens, Malea crassilabris, Malea crassilabrum, Malea dentatum, Malea latilabris, and Tonna ringens.