Picta Turrid Shell, Polystira picta

Picta Turrid Shell, Polystira picta. Shell courtesy of the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, March 2016. Size: 4.8 cm (1.9 inches) x 1.4 cm (0.4 inches).

The Picta Turrid, Polystira picta (Reeve, 1843), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Turridae Family of Turrids. The shells consist of seven or eight angled whorls and are high spired, with a long open siphonal canal and a narrow aperture. The exterior is sculpted with coarse and fine spiral ridges that continue to the outer lip giving the lip a zigzag appearance. The exterior of the shell is white and varying amounts of brown specks or blotches that on some shells form stripes or chevrons; the interior is white. Picta Turrids Shells reach a maximum of 5.7 cm (2.2 inches) in length and 1.7 cm (0.7 inches) in height.

Picta Turrids are found in muddy sand environments in at depths between 20 m (65 feet) and 80 m (260 feet). They are similar to the Noble Giant Turrid Shell, Polystira nobilis, which has a wider body. They are found throughout the Sea of Cortez, and range south to Columbia; they have not been documented from the West Coast of Baja.

A synonym is Pleurotoma picta.