Sad Miter Shell, Strigatella tristis

Sad Miter Shell, Strigatella tristis.  Shell courtesy of the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos Area, January 2010. Size: 2.5 cm (1.0 inch) x 1.1 cm (0.4 inches).

The Sad Miter, Strigatella tristis (Broderip, 1836), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Mitridae Family of Miters. The shell is an elongated football-shape with five or six slightly convex whorls with the body whorl being large. The aperture covers about one-half the shell length and there are weak ridges running the length of the shell. The exterior of is grayish-brown, olive brown, or dark brown in color and most individuals have a white or light brown band along the top of each whorl. The interior is white to gray, sometimes with a brown wash. The Sad Miter Shells reach a maximum of 3.7 cm (1.5 inches) in length and 1.6 cm (0.6 inches) in height.

Sad Miters are found in moderately shallow water at depths between 3 m (10 feet) and 25 m (80 feet). They range from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. They are found throughout the Sea of Cortez.

A synonym is Mitra tristis.