Ficus ficus

Ficus ficus or the paper fig shell is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ficidae, the fig shells.^[1]

Ficus ficus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Ficidae
Genus:	Ficus
Species:	F. ficus
Binomial name
Ficus ficus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[1]
Bulla ficus (Linnaeus, 1758) Ficus communis Röding, 1798 Ficus ficoides (Lamarck, 1822) Ficus margaretae Iredale, 1931 Ficus subintermedius [sic] (incorrect gender ending) Ficus subintermedius (d'Orbigny, 1852) Murex ficus Linnaeus, 1758 Pyrula ficus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution

Ficus ficus is found in the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific.

Description

Ficus ficus is an unusual shaped thin shell being somewhat pear-shaped with a long narrow aperture and four whorls. The spire is tiny. The shell may reach 5 ins (12 cm) in length. The maximum recorded shell length is 145 mm.^[2] There is a trellis-like sculpture of fine striations on the pinkish surface. The inside is orange and there is no operculum. There is a large foot with two curved flaps near the head and a single long siphon.^[3]

Habitat

The minimum recorded depth for this species is 0 m.; maximum recorded depth is 176 m.^[2]