Shell of the Week: The Atlantic Trumpet Triton

Charonia variegata (Lamarck, 1816) is one of the largest gastropods found in the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Trumpet Tritons can be found from North Carolina to Brazil, and feed on, among other large sea stars, the red cushion sea star Oreaster reticulatus. The Museum displays the world record-size shell of this species, a shell measuring 388 mm (about 16 inches), collected off Fortaleza in northeastern Brazil. (A large reproduction of this illustration is on display in the In Focus exhibition at the National Shell Museum.)

The Atlantic Trumpet Snail, Charonia variegata, from off Sombrero Key, Florida. Photos by James F. Kelly.

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