Maura Turrid Shell, Crassispira maura

Maura Turrid Shell, Crassispira maura. Shell courtesy of the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, April 2018. Size: 4.9 cm (1.9 inches) x 1.3 cm (0.5 inches). Identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Maura Turrid, Crassispira maura (G.B. Sowerby I, 1834), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Pseudomelatomidae Family of Turrids. The are and elongated and spindle-shape that consist of ten to eleven whorls and are sculpted with strong, lengthwise, ribs, which produce knobs where they cross the whorls. They also have numerous, fine, spiral, ridges. The aperture is narrow and runs about one-third the length of the shell with a thin outside lip and the inside edge is smooth and straight, until it curves at the top. The exterior of the shell is brown and they are normally covered with a brown periostracum; the interior is white. Maura Turrid Shells reach a maximum of 8.5 cm (3.3 inches) in length and 2.2 cm (0.9 inches) in height

Maura Turrids are found in sand, mud, and rubble substrate in the intertidal zone to depths up to 61 m (200 feet). These shells are found in the Sea of Cortez, from Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California, to the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja California Sur and they range south to Ecuador. They have not been documented from the West Coast of Baja.

A synonym is Pleuratoma melatomidae.