Turbo argyrostomus Linnaeus, 1758
81.3mm

Turbo argyrostomus is very common to abundant in the Marshalls on a range of intertidal, lagoon, pinnacle and seaward reefs, where they live on and under rocks and in ledges on the hard substrate.

These old large shells are often home to a number of cap shell "riders" that over time seem to dig right through the turban shell and open a hole that may eventually lead to the demise of the turban animal. The thick calcareous operculum that closes off the aperture of Turbo argyrostomus is slightly bumpy and white to light brown in color with a diffuse darker brown spot in the center. Discarded by octopus predators who eat the animals out of the shells, these opercula are found scattered about as often as empty shells.

It appears that the spines around the shell vary in size.

Created 26 April 2017
Updated 12 November 2020

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