Gastropods

Click on photo to enlarge. Scale line in photo equals 1cm unless otherwise specified.
* Species which are commonly encountered on the beach.

The following Odostomid snails can be difficult to identify and are under study to sort out the species. Ours were identified by Pyramidellidae authority Patrick LaFollette of the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County.

Iselica obtusa (Carpenter, 1864)
Obtuse Iselica
subtidal, 9-46m size to 6mm
southern California to southern BC
This small shell has distinct spiral cords. It lives on gravel. Pictured specimens were found in pholad holes.

Pyramidellidae

Ucluelet, BC
Boonea cf. cincta (Carpenter, 1864)
intertidal to shallow subtidal size to 3mm
southern California to southern BC
This is very rarely found due to its small size. It has a subtle beaded sculpture which fades to only spiral grooves near the base of the aperture.
(previous name - Odostomia cincta)

Brachystomia angularis (Dall & Bartsch, 1907)
intertidal to 64m size to 6mm
southern California to southeast Alaska
This is rarely found intertidally in our area. The shell is white. The last whorl exhibits an angled lower portion.
(previous name - Odostomia angularis)

Campbell River, BC
Turbonilla aurantia (Carpenter, 1864)
Golden Turbonille
intertidal to 37m size to 7mm
California to BC
This is rarely found intertidally. The shell is golden-yellow to reddish-brown. There are 20-22 axial ribs per whorl. They do not extend to the base of the last whorl. The shell also has very fine spiral lines.

Stanley Park, BC
Aartsenia satura (Carpenter, 1864)
intertidal to shallow subtidal size to 6mm
southern California to BC
This is rarely found intertidally in our area. The shell is yellowish.
(previous name - Odostomia satura)

"Odostomia" tenuisculpta Carpenter, 1864
intertidal to 55m size to 6mm
northern Mexico to Alaska
This is occasionally found intertidally. It is a parasite and has been found on various species of mollusks. The shell is white to yellow with microscopic spiral striations. It has a rounded base and an oval aperture.
It was recently found on Tresus capax which hadn't been observed before. See article here. It was subsequently found in another location on T. capax. Further research shows this species may parasitize the siphons of a wide range of bivalves.
(It was determined this could not be of the genus Evalia as we previously had it listed.)

The Turbonillas are a little understood group in the Pacific Northwest which need further study. We do not attempt to identify them to species level at this time, except for T. aurantia. Our numbering system does not correlate to any other reference, but is simply our own way to keep track of the types we have found. We are not sure exactly how many valid species exist in our area.

Family Amathinidae & Pyramidellidae