Semicassis granulata · Cassidae
How to identify a scotch bonnet
Cream base with regular reddish-brown squares in tidy rows. Rounded body whorl and short spire; toothed inner lip.
- Grid-like check pattern of reddish-brown squares
- Rounded, helmet-shaped body whorl
- Toothed inner lip
- Family
- Cassidae
- Class
- Gastropod
- Regions
- East Coast
- Habitat
- Sandy Offshore · Shell Hash Beaches
- Best seasons
- Spring · Fall · Winter
- Collector level
- Advanced
Uncommon on the strand — a prized find along the Outer Banks after strong onshore weather.
In your journal
- Sketch the check pattern before you handle the shell — bonnets bleach quickly in the sun.
- Log the storm system that pushed the shell in. Bonnets rarely arrive on quiet days.