Shell of the Week: The Stimpson Murex

Pazinotus stimpsonii (Dall, 1889) reaches about 12 mm (about 0.5 inch) in height. The shell has a sculpture of about 6–7 strong varices per whorl. The size and shape of these varices varies within the species; the varices may be upturned, or “rolled,” in younger individuals. The color is whitish to cream-yellow, but some younger shells can be translucent and delicately colored. The species if found from the Gulf of Mexico, east coast of Florida, and into the Caribbean Sea south to Barbados. With thanks to Roland Houart of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences for confirming the identification of this shell. Dredged between 305–366 meters off Egmont Key, Florida.

The Stimpson Murex, Pazinotus stimpsonii, from off Egmont Key (Gulf of Mexico), Florida. Illustration by José H. Leal.

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