Wiegmann Triton Shell, Monoplex wiegmanni

Wiegmann Triton Shell, Monoplex wiegmanni.  Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, May 2023. Size: 8.7 cm (3.4 inches) x 5.1 cm (2.0 inches).  Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

The Wiegmann Triton, Monoplex wiegmanni (Anton, 1838, is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Cymatiidae Family of Tritons. The shell is thick and heavy with a spindle-shaped outline, The shell has widely spaced varices on the spire, a few nodes on the shoulders of the whorls, and a spiral structure of uniformly wide ribs. The exterior of the shell is yellowish brown with the spiral ribs being a little darker than the interspaces. Wiegmann Triton shells reach a maximum of 8.7 cm (3.4 inches) in length and 5.1 cm (2.0 inches) in height established by the shell photographed above.

The Wiegmann Triton is uncommon and poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction. They are found from San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California, throughout the Sea of Cortez and south to Peru.

Synonyms are Cymathium wiegmanni, Fusus wiegmanni, Linatella wiegmanni, Triton chemnitzii, Triton perforatus and Tritonium nodosum.