Today, I want to introduce the last species of our three-part series on open-coiling, the Wide-coil Wentletrap, Cycloscala echinaticosta (d’Orbigny, 1842), a species found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean. In this species, the degree of coiling “openness,” or the distance from one whorl to the next, can vary wildly among individual shells. The possible advantages for these species to “wear” open-coiled shells have not yet been fully explored by malacologists.
The Wide-coil Wentletrap, Cycloscala echinaticosta, from Abaco, Bahamas. Photos by James F. Kelly.
#widecoilwentletrap #cycloscalaechinaticosta #epitoniumechinaticostum #epitoniidae
