Slight Baby Ear Shell, Sinum debile

Slight Baby Ear Shell, Sinum debile. Shell courtesy of the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, October 2009. Size: 2.6 cm (1.0 inch) x 1.9 cm (0.75 inches).

The Slight Baby Ear, Sinum debile (Gould, 1853), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Naticiae Family of Moons. They are also known as the Frail Ear Shell. They have a typical flattened, disk-like, Moon Snail shell appearance. When viewed from the base, they resemble a human ear. They have a large body whorl, a very low spire and large aperture. The shell is sculpted with very fine lines running along and across the whorls. The exterior of the shell is white with a light blue or light rust tinge. Smaller specimens have a translucent shell. The Slight Baby Ear Shells reach a maximum of 3.1 cm (1.2 inches) in length and 2.3 cm (0.9 inches) in height.

Slight Baby Ears are found in shallow environments in the intertidal zone to depths up to 250 m (820 feet). They range from Bahía Concepción to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur and and south to Panama.

Synonyms include Sigaretus debilis and Sinum pazianum.