Scaled Jewel Box Shell, Charma squamuligera

Scaled Jewel Box Shell, Charma squamuligera. Size: 1.9 cm (0.7 inches) x 1.6 cm (0.6 inches). Shell collected from the tidal pools within El Tule, Km 17, Baja California Sur, March 2010.

The Scaled Jewel Box, Chama echinate (Broderip, 1835), is a bivlave mollusks that is a member of the Chamidae Family of Jewel Boxes. They are known in Mexico as almeja joyero. The shell is chunky and irregular in shape with the exterior surface being covered with short, irregular spines. The shell has a brown exterior and a bright purple, with pink or coral colored hinge teeth interiorly. The Scaled Jewel Box Shell reach a maximum of 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) in length and 3.2 cm (1.3 inches) in height.

The Scaled Jewel Boxes are attached to rocks and coral in the intertidal zone to depths up to 90 m (295 feet). They range from Southern California to Peru, including the Cocos, Galapagos, and Revillagigedo Islands. They are found throughout the Sea of Cortez.

Synonyms include Chama garthi and Chama squamuligera.