Acanthinucella punctulata

Acanthinucella punctulata (previously known as Acanthina punctulata), common name: the spotted thorn drupe, is a species of predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails.^[1]

Acanthinucella punctulata
A shell of A. punctutulata occupied by a hermit crab
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Muricidae
Genus:	Acanthinucella
Species:	A. punctulata
Binomial name
Acanthinucella punctulata (Sowerby G.B. I, 1835)
Synonyms[1]
Monoceros punctulatum Sowerby, 1835 Purpura lapilloides Conrad, 1837

Description

These snails are small in size, about 2.5 cm. in length. The shell has dark spiral markings resembling wide dots or dashes.

Distribution

These snails are found on the West Coast of North America, from Monterey, California, to northern Baja California, Mexico.

Habitat

A. punctulata lives on rocky shores in the upper intertidal zone.

A pair of A. punctulata mating in a tide pool in central California