Hemphill’s Latirus Shell, Pustulatirus hemphilli
Hemphill’s Latirus Shell, Pustulatirus hemphilli. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, June 2025. Size: 7.2 cm (2.8 inches) x 3.0 cm (1.2 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.
Phylogeny: Hemphill’s Latirus Shell, Pustulatirus hemphilli (Hertlein & A. M. Strong, 1951) is a gastropod member of the Fasciolaridae Family of Spindle, Horse Conchs and Tulip Shells. The Pustulatirus Genus is one of sixty-eight genera in the Fasciolaridae Family, and there are eleven species in the Pustulatirus Genus. This species is named in honor of Henry Hemphill, a malacologist and bricklayer, who collected specimens from the western United States, Baja California, and Florida.
Description: Hemphill’s Latirus Shells have a spindle-shaped outline and they consist of around eight to nine whorls. The exterior is sculpted with coarse spiral lines and strong axial ribs, which form knobs on the whorls. They have a high spire, a round aperture and a long, open, siphonal canal. The inside lip of the aperture is sculpted with three folds. The exterior of Hemphill’s Latirus Shells is yellowish brown, with a brown periostracum. The interior is white. Hemphill’s Latirus Shells reach a maximum of 6.9 cm (2.7 inches) in length.
Habitat and Distribution: Hemphill’s Latirus Shells may be found on sand, mud, or rock. They generally live at depths between 18 m (59 feet) and 40 m (131 feet). They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur and north of Isla del Carmen, Baja California Sur.
Ecology and Behavior: Hemphill’s Latirus Shells are a poorly studied and understood species. There is very limited documentation of their diet, predation, reproduction or ecosystem interactions. Other species in the Fasciolariidae Family are predatory carnivores that feed on barnacles, mollusks, and worms. In turn they are preyed upon by shorebirds, crabs, fish, predatory mollusks and sea stars. Hemphill’s Latirus Shells are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, with internal fertilization. The eggs are laid in protective capsules and hatch into planktonic larvae. Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated.
Synonyms: Latirus hemphilli.