Wide-mouth Coral Shell, Coralliophila monodonta

Wide-mouth Coral Shell, Coralliophila monodonta. Shell collected off the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, May 2015. Size: 2.0 cm (0.8 inches) x 1.2 cm (0.5 inches).

The Wide-mouth Coral, Coralliophila monodonta (Blainville, 1832), is a member of the Muricidae Family of Rocks. They are also known as Quoy’s Coral Shell. This alternative name, as well as the synonymized Genus Quoyula, are named after Jean Rene’ Constant Quoy. Quoy was a surgeon, naturalist, and artist who served on French voyages of exploration in the early 1800’s. Quoy is credited with noting the importance of sketching marine invertebrates while still alive before loss of natural colors. Wide-mouth Coral Shells is a large shell that has three or four whorls, a short and blunt spire, and a large aperture. The exterior of the shell is chalky, rough, and white in color; the interior is smooth and white with varying amounts of pink and purple around the perimeter. The Wide-mouth Coral reach a maximum of 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) in length and 2.1 cm (0.8 inches) in height.

Wide-mouth Coral Shells are found on and within coral in the intertidal zone to depths up to 100 feet. They have a limited range being found only along the coastal Baja in sparse coral populations in the greater Cabo San Lucas area, Baja California Sur, and south to Panama, including the Revillagigedo Islands. They are also found throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Synonyms include: Coralliophila madreporara, Coralliophila madreporarum, Galeropsis monodontus, Purpura madreporarum, Purpura monodonta, Quoyula madreporarum, and Quoyula monodonta.