Red-brown Ark

Shell size to 45 mm; shell compressed ("flat"), surface criss-cross, radial (starting at the beak) and commarginal ("parallel" to margin) cordlets forming bead-like bumps at their intersections. Shell internally brown, darker externally. Found under coral heads and rocks; common on ledges and reefs offshore in the Gulf; species not commonly found on Sanibel/Captiva area. The valve illustrated was found at low tide on Blind Pass (between Sanibel and Captiva islands) by Karla Mason on March 13, 2014. The 2013 beach renourishment deposited offshore material in the area. There is ongoing discussion on whether the name Barbatia domingensis (Lamarck, 1819) should be applied to this species.