Sea Snail Sea shell - S-256 CASSIS CORNUTA

Beautiful, very large XXL shell Cassis cornuta – horned helmet – a species of large, predatory gastropod in the family Cassidae, one of the largest snail species. The species is the type species of the genus Cassis. The spire is very low. On the last whorl there are three distinct spiral rows of nodules (horns), the largest of them are on the keel, in the upper part of the shell. Adult individuals in the top row have 5–7 long or short, rounded or pointed tubercles (horns). The two rows below have 3–4 smaller nodules. A characteristic feature is a prominent, dense hammered texture (net-like relief) on the surface of the shell. The external surface of the shell is cream-, gray-, or whitened, with brown streaks and spots. A large, oval parietal plate, yellowish- to brownish-orange in color, with two spotted, spiral thickenings in the central part of its surface. The height of the parietal plate in adults is greater than the height of the shell. The outer lip is thick, broad, with 5–7 pale teeth on the mid-inner edge. On the outer surface of the lip there are usually 7 broad brown spots. During growth, the new outer lip is expanded after the whorl has rotated 270 degrees relative to the previous lip. Protoconch with 2½ narrow whorls, whitish, smooth with a brownish seam on the first whorl. The spindle is orange, with 8–11 weakly defined, whitish lamellae in the lower half. The umbilical pit is covered. Sometimes pieces of corals, rock, or shell fragments get trapped in the space of the pit, which rattle when the shell is shaken. Dimensions - 230/260/305 mm. Highly recommended for collectors and interior decorators.