Scaled False Triton

Scaled False Triton, Phyllocoma scalariformis

Scaled False Triton, Phyllocoma scalariformis. Size: 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 2.0 cm (0.8 inches).

Scaled False Triton, Phyllocoma scalariformis (Broderip, 1833), is a member of the Muricidae Family of Rock Shells, that is also known as the Staircase Phyllocoma. The shell is large with five or six whorls, a high spire, a siphonal canal that is straight and open and a moderately large aperture with flared lips.  The shell exterior is sculpted with spiral lines, following the whorls, and axial lines, running lengthwise and some individuals have pronounced, discontinuous, varices. The exterior of the shell is white in color; the interior is also white. The Scaled False Triton Shells reach a maximum length of 3.8 cm (1.5 inches).

The Scaled False Tritons are found on sand, often between rocks in the intertidal zone to depths up to 35 feet. They range from the coast of Western Mexico to Panama and have not been documented from the coastal Baja. The shell photographed below was collect in Todos Santos, Baja California Sur and thus extends this range to the southwest coast of Baja.

A synonym is Triton scalariformis.