Phrontis tiarula

Phrontis tiarula, common name the western mud nassa, is a species of small sea snail with gills and an operculum, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Nassariidae, the nassa mud snails or dog whelks.^[1]

Phrontis tiarula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Neogastropoda
Family:	Nassariidae
Genus:	Phrontis
Species:	P. tiarula
Binomial name
Phrontis tiarula (Kiener, 1841)
Synonyms[1]
Buccinum tiarula Kiener, 1841 Nassa complanata var. major Stearns, 1894 Nassa tegula Reeve, 1853 Nassa tiarula (Kiener, 1841) Nassarius (Nassarius) tiarula (Kiener, 1841)

Description

The length of the shell varies between 9 mm and 20 mm.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Pacific Ocean from California to Mexico.

Feeding habits

These snails are exclusively scavengers.