How to identify a moon snail
Almost spherical outline with a low spire and a wide crescent aperture. Common variants show a dark 'eye' at the umbilicus (shark eye).
- Nearly spherical body whorl
- Wide crescent aperture with a low spire
- Umbilical 'eye' on shark-eye species
- Family
- Naticidae
- Class
- Gastropod
- Regions
- East Coast · Gulf Coast
- Habitat
- Sandy Intertidal · Sandy Subtidal
- Collector level
- Beginner
In your journal
- Look for the drilled bevel-edged hole on empty bivalves nearby — that's the moon snail's calling card.
- Sketch the shark-eye 'iris' at the umbilicus if your specimen shows one.