Flame helmet
Cassis flammea
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Description:
The outline is a short conical spire with very blunt knobs. The last winding is by far the largest. The rim of the opening is folded back, thus distinguishing it from the conches. This rim has seven or eight dark stripes. The rest of the shell is striped in two directions. Along the spiral, light brown stripes, and from top to bottom, darker brown to reddish zigzag lines.
Size: the shell can reach up to 15 cm.
Habitat:
Occurs all along the coast in the sandy areas.
Depth: ranges from 3 m down to 12 m.
Distribution:
Common to occasional all over the Caribbean.
Due to over-collecting, the animal becomes uncommon.
Remarks:
It feeds on sea urchins, even Diadema antillarum, the Long-spined urchin.
In most countries it is illegal to bring back these shells from holidays.