Speckled Cerith Shell, Cerithium maculosum

Speckled Cerith Shell, Cerithium maculosum. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Size: 4.4 cm (1.7 inches) x 1.7 cm (0.7 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Speckled Cerith Shell, Cerithium maculosum. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2022. Size: 5.3 cm (2.1 inches) x 2.0 cm (0.8 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

The Speckled Cerith, Cerithium maculosum (Keiner, 1841), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Cerithiidae Family of Ceriths. They are also known as the Common Cerith and in Mexico as pada comu’n. The shell strongly built and consist of eight to nine whorls that have a series of nodules or knobs along the shoulders, spiraling down from the apex. The shell is white to grayish, with numerous reddish-brown to dark brown specks or blotches. The aperture is white. Speckled Cerith Shells reach a maximum of 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) in length and 2.1 cm (0.8 inches) in height.

Speckled Cerith reside within sand and muddy-sand substrate in the intertidal zone. They range from Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, to the coasts of central mainland Mexico and are found throughout the Sea of Cortez. Some sources show them ranging as far south as Panama, including the Galapagos Islands.