Rare, uncommon species, deep water, defects as usual
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Mollusca
Class:Gastropoda
(unranked):clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily:Muricoidea
Family:Muricidae
Subfamily:Ocenebrinae
Genus:Coronium
Species:C. acanthodes
Size ~86mm to ~114mm
Argentina & Uruguay
From my collection
The “Watson’s Trophon” is a prickly muricid native to the temperate southwestern Pacific ranging from southern Brazil to Falkland Islands to Chile, with some records off the Antarctic Peninsula also. A carnivorous and predatory gastropod, it inhabits soft bottoms of rather deep water around -80~400m. The yellowish white colouration, general form, and sculpture is usually consistent but development of varices varies among individuals. Originally placed in the genus Trophon, it was recently reassigned to Coronium based on protoconch and egg capsule morphology, both of which resemble Coronium coronatum (Penna-Neme & Leme, 1978). It is a large trophon, perhaps the largest in the region, with an average shell length of 80mm and giants may reach 120mm.
Photo Taken: November 25, 2024
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