Unguis Turban Shell, Uvanilla unguis

Unguis Turban Shell, Uvanilla unguis. Shell courtesy of the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, May 2011. Size: 2.7 cm (1.1 inches) x 1.8 cm (0.7 inches).

The Unguis Turban, Uvanilla unguis (W. Wood, 1828), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Turbinidae Family of Turbans. The name Unguis comes from the Latin word for claw, referring to the shape of the basal spines. The shells are wide and cone shaped and they are the only top shell in the region that have a series of blunt spines projecting from the perimeter of the base. The shell consists of five or six sloping whorls, the external surface consists of sculpting with fine lines and heavy radiating ribs with the being half fine spiral lines and half mother of pearl, leading to the aperture. The exterior of the shell is gray to light brown in color. Unguis Turban Shells reach a maximum diameter of 6.2 cm (2.4 inches).

Unguis Turban Shells are found clinging to rocks in the intertidal zone to depths up to 81 m (265 feet). They range from the central Sea of Cortez to the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja Califonria Sur, and south to central Western Mexico. They have not been documented from the West Coast of Baja.

Synonyms include Astraea unguis and Trochus unguis.