Cassis tessellata

Cassis tessellata, common name : the West African helmet, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cassidae, the helmet snails and bonnet snails.^[1]

Cassis tessellata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Cassidae
Genus:	Cassis
Species:	C. tessellata
Binomial name
Cassis tessellata Gmelin, 1791
Synonyms[1]
Buccinum maculosa Gmelin, J.F., 1791 Buccinum rumpfii Gmelin, J.F., 1791 Cassis coronata Röding, P.F., 1798 Cassis fasciata Bruguière, J.G., 1792 Cassis spinosa "Gronovius" Deshayes, G.P., 1844 Cassis spinosa "Meuschen, F.C." Iredale, T., 1927

Description

The shell is cone-shaped with a flattened apex, light with darker symmetrical spots. On the outer surface are small short spikes. The siphon (short and narrow) is strongly bent back. From the side of the mouth, the shell is white.^[2] The size of an adult shell varies between 66 mm and 300 mm.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Caribbean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean along Cape Verde and from Senegal to Angola.