Robust Carrier Shell, Xenophora conchliophora robusta

Robust Carrier Shell, Xenophora conchliophora robusta.Shell collected off the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, November 2008. Size: 7.5 cm (3.0 inches) x 8.5 cm (3.3 inches). Identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Robust Carrier, Xenophora conchliophora robusta (Verrill, 1870), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Xenophoridae Family of Carriers. The Robust Carrier Shell is virtually identical to the American Carrier Shell, Xenophora conchliphora found in the Atlantic. The Robust Carrier Shell is about half again as wide as tall with a large aperture and a blunt spire. The external surface of the shell is covered with sculpting and consists of wavy spiral ridges and other smaller shells or other objects. The exterior of the shell is white; the interior of the shell is brown. The Robust Carrier Shells reach a maximum of 10.8 cm (4.3 inches) in diameter and 10.8 cm (4.3 inches) in height.

Robust Carrier Shells are found within sand and mud substrate at depths up to 61 m (200 feet). Most of these shells are collected by shrimp trawlers. They are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific with the exception that they are absent from north of La Paz, Baja California Sur, in the Sea of Cortez and extend south to Ecuador, including the Cocos Islands.

A synonym is Xenophora robusta.