Black turban snail, black turban, black tegula, black top • Tegula funebralis, Tegula funebralis subaptera, Chlorostoma funebralis
{Tegula = roof/covering, funebralis = funeral}
Black turbans found on Central Coast shorelines. Bottom left: the worn-down white shell with a red top was solidly lodged between two rocks and probably had been for some time; this shows what is underneath the usual black pigmentation. The top right photo shows a shell housing a hermit crab. Photos by, from bottom left: Kelly Fretwell, John Reynolds, Joel White, Becky Segal, and Julie Mundy.
Identification
True to its name, the black turban has a thick, dark purplish-black shell in a blunt, rounded cone shape consisting of 4 whorls. The top of the shell gets battered over its lifetime, wearing it down to the pearly-white layer beneath. The middle left photo shows a very worn-down shell, with all the black worn off, and the tip worn down from the white layer to red. The umbilicus is closed (image). The interior of the shell is pearly-white, while the snail's foot and head are black. The shell gets to 3 cm in diameter.
Habitat & Range
The black turban is a common rocky intertidal species. Aggregations under rocks are a frequent occurrence. Solitary shells often are no longer occupied by their original host, and have instead been adopted by a hermit crab. This species is most common on open, exposed coasts, and is rarely found in more protected areas such as the Straight of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia. The snail's range stretches along the west coast of North America from northern BC to Mexico.
Similar Species
You won't easily confuse another Central Coast species with a black turban snail. The brown turban snail (Chlorostoma brunnea) is similarly shaped, but is a definite brown colour, lacks the worn shell tip, and is not found north of Oregon. The dusky turban (Tegula pulligo) is found on the Central Coast, but is also brown and has a more pointed spire.
Intriguing Info
Black limpets (Lottia asmi) and slippersnails (e.g. Crepidula adunca) will often grown on black turban shells. Black limpets grazes on microalgae growing on the black turban shell, and so will switch from one shell to another. Slippersnails, on the other hand, stay in the same spot on the same shell.
Males and females can potentially be differentiated by the soles of their foot (what you will most likely see sticking out the end of the aperture) — males generally have paler foot bottoms than females.
The black turban snail has some smart escape mechanisms. If attacked by a predatory snail, it will climb on to the top of the predator's shell. If attacked on a slope, it detaches its foot and roll downwards and away. Its shell is a favourite of hermit crabs, and so any shells observed rolling might simply be hermit crabs rather than black turbans on the run.
This species can live up to 80-100 years.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/460365-Tegula-funebralis
True to its name, the black turban has a thick, dark purplish-black shell in a blunt, rounded cone shape consisting of 4 whorls. The top of the shell gets battered over its lifetime, wearing it down to the pearly-white layer beneath. The middle left photo shows a very worn-down shell, with all the black worn off, and the tip worn down from the white layer to red. The umbilicus is closed (image). The interior of the shell is pearly-white, while the snail's foot and head are black. The shell gets to 3 cm in diameter.
Habitat & Range
The black turban is a common rocky intertidal species. Aggregations under rocks are a frequent occurrence. Solitary shells often are no longer occupied by their original host, and have instead been adopted by a hermit crab. This species is most common on open, exposed coasts, and is rarely found in more protected areas such as the Straight of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia. The snail's range stretches along the west coast of North America from northern BC to Mexico.
Similar Species
You won't easily confuse another Central Coast species with a black turban snail. The brown turban snail (Chlorostoma brunnea) is similarly shaped, but is a definite brown colour, lacks the worn shell tip, and is not found north of Oregon. The dusky turban (Tegula pulligo) is found on the Central Coast, but is also brown and has a more pointed spire.
Intriguing Info
Black limpets (Lottia asmi) and slippersnails (e.g. Crepidula adunca) will often grown on black turban shells. Black limpets grazes on microalgae growing on the black turban shell, and so will switch from one shell to another. Slippersnails, on the other hand, stay in the same spot on the same shell.
Males and females can potentially be differentiated by the soles of their foot (what you will most likely see sticking out the end of the aperture) — males generally have paler foot bottoms than females.
The black turban snail has some smart escape mechanisms. If attacked by a predatory snail, it will climb on to the top of the predator's shell. If attacked on a slope, it detaches its foot and roll downwards and away. Its shell is a favourite of hermit crabs, and so any shells observed rolling might simply be hermit crabs rather than black turbans on the run.
This species can live up to 80-100 years.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/460365-Tegula-funebralis
References
Cowles, D. (2004). Chlorostoma funebralis (A. Adams, 1855). Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 05/07/2013.
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 103.Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 234.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Cowles, D. (2004). Chlorostoma funebralis (A. Adams, 1855). Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 05/07/2013.
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 103.Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 234.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).