Gastropods 

Family  Eulimidae & Capulidae 









Home > Northwest Shells & Marine Life > PNW Shells & Marine Life Photos > Gastropods >  Gastropods - Eulimidae & Capulidae  


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







Vitreolina columbiana Vitreolina columbiana Vitreolina columbiana
 all photographed in Petersburg, AK, intertidally    photographed on Black Sea Cucumber                                  found in anaerobic mud
Vitreolina columbiana (Bartsch, 1917)
intertidal to subtidal          southern BC to southern Alaska          size to 10mm
This is occaionally found.  It has a glossy, almost transparent shell which is curved..  The color reflects what it has been eating since the shell is transparent.  It is parasitic on the Black Sea Cucumber.
(synonym - Balcis columbiana, Melanella columbiana)






Aclis shepardiana (Dall, 1919)
Shepard's Aclis
intertidal to at least 46m          size to 4mm
southern California to southern BC
This species is very rare to find due to its small size.  The shell is very small and slender.  As one person described, it looks like "a tiny sliver of glass." 
(previous name - Graphis shepardiana)




   




Melanella micans Melanella micans Melanella micans
     Barkley Sound, BC                                       Oak Bay, WA, intertidal                                             Rich Passage, WA, subtidal
Melanella micans (Carpenter, 1865)
Shining Balcis
subtidal, 2-100m          northern Mexico to central Alaska          size to 13mm
The intertidal photograph was on an extreme low tide in an area known for other species normally found subtidally.  This glossy shell is white and straight. It is normally found on sand and silt.
(previous names - Balcis micans, Eulimia micans)














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Eulimidae
Aclis shepardiana
Kyuquot, BC













Capulidae
Trichotropis bicarinata
Alaska 



























This page last revised: 5-25-2019
Trichotropis cancellata Trichotropis cancellata Trichotropis cancellata
   San Juan Islands, WA                  Petersburg, AK, intertidal                               Tacoma, WA, intertidal
Trichotropis cancellata Hinds, 1843
Checkered Hairysnail
intertidal to 200m          Oregon to northern Alaska          size to 40mm
This is occasionally found intertidally on a very low tide.  It is especially fond of the large tube worms.  This white shell has a checkered sculpture pattern and a hairy periostracum.  





Trichotropis bicarinata (Sowerby, 1825)
Two-keel Hairysnail
subtidal, 10-475m          size to 37mm
Arctic Ocean south to northern BC, Japan & Greenland
This shell has two strong spiral ridges on the body whorl.
It has a flaky periostracum which forms spiny looking rings.


















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