Southwest Florida Shells

by José H. Leal

Family Cerithiidae

Cerithium lutosum

(Menke, 1828)

Variable Cerith

Shell to 16 mm; sculpture nodulose sculpture, with about 3-4 spiral rows of beads. Color variable, brown, dark-brown, blackish, or mottled with white flecks. Aperture usually white inside. This is not a common species locally. The shell in the main illustration (BMSM 131041) was collected in 2021 by Ken Piech at Bunche Beach in Fort Myers; the next (BMSM 127415) was collected in December 2018 by Susan Hewitt on Turner Beach (Blind Pass), Captiva; the shell in the additional image is one of two found in December 2016 by Susan J. Hewitt and Steve Rosenthal on Turner Beach.