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Shell

Banded Tulip

A smaller, more crisply patterned tulip of the Gulf coast — dark spiral bands on a smooth cream shell make it one of the region's most photogenic finds.

Cinctura lilium · Fasciolariidae

How to identify a banded tulip

Slender spindle shell up to about 4 inches. Smooth surface with a few widely spaced dark brown to purplish spiral bands. Aperture cream to orange.

  • Smooth surface with a few crisp dark spiral bands (no dense streaking)
  • Smaller than the true tulip — usually 2–4 inches
  • Spire moderately tall; anterior canal relatively short
Family
Fasciolariidae
Class
Gastropod
Regions
Gulf Coast · Southeast
Habitat
Sandy Subtidal · Grass Flats
Collector level
Intermediate

Where to look

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Species

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Group

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