Family Columbellidae

Shell size to 9 mm; shell fusiform, with sides of whorls and spire straight. Sculpture of 14-16 straight axial ribs. Aperture about 1/3 of shell length. Outer lip thick, forming varix, with 5-6 denticles internally, largest denticle posterior. Color whitish to tan with brownish specklings and commonly with slightly oblique dashed to solid brown spiral lines. Considered by some authors to be a synonym of Anachis hotessieriana (d’Orbigny, 1842).

Shell size to 6 mm; shell similar to Parvanachis obesa, but with with sculpture of stronger spiral threads and wider incised lines. Color dark-brown.

Shell size to 5 mm; shell ovate-conical, stout. Five whorls. Sculpture of spiral cords that do not cross axial ribs. Sutures are not distinct. Outer lip with fine denticles on inner edge. Color very variable, whitish, yellowish, reddish-brown, sometimes with spiral bands of darker color. At about 5 mm length (0.2 inch), the fat dove snail is one of the smallest local species of the dove snail family (Columbellidae). The live animals (on the right) were picked from stranded seaweed collected by Museum Marine Biologist Rebecca Mensch on Sanibel, in January 2015. As seen in the photo, dove snails (and other micro-gastropods) are capable of "crawling upside down" under the interface air-water; they do so by taking advantage of the surface tension (caused in turn by the cohesive forces among water molecules). The smaller the critter, the easier it will be for them to crawl along the air-water interface.

Shell size to 16 mm; shell slender, fusiform. Spire with straight sides, pointed. Sculpture of about 12 curved ribs which disappear on basal part of body whorl. Spiral threads present on base. Aperture narrow with many denticles. Color grayish brown with grayish- and reddish-brown markings. Main illustration by James F. Kelly.

Shell size to 9 mm; spire elevated. Shell surface glossy, shiny. Axial sculpture of about 20, somewhat straight, narrow ribs. Spiral incised lines between ribs. Suture distinct. Outer lip denticulate. Color ivory-white to yellowish with a very regular pattern of reddish-brown markings. This species was identified in the 20th-century literature as C. sparsa, a similar but separate species (The "aff." in the species name indicates that the species "is similar to, but not the same species…" Shells from Southwest Florida differ ever so slightly from true C. sparsa, though, by details of the sculpture, including the deeply etched spiral lines below the suture (area separating two consecutive whorls). Also closely similar to C. similis (Ravenel, 1861) from the east coast of Florida. The mantle and foot of the live animal are whitish with brownish-gray blotches. The tentacles and siphon are of the same colors, but the blotches become rings around those structures. The live snail (two views) in the second image measured about 8 mm (0.32 inch) and was collected in early 2015 on Sanibel by Rebecca Mensch on stranded seaweed, and photographed by José H. Leal. The last image shows spent egg capsules on hydroid "branches."

Shell size to 18 mm; shell solid, with pointed spire. Sculpture of fine incised spiral lines, but usually smooth in middle of body whorl. Outer lip thickened in middle section. Color whitish to yellowish with brown markings. Outer lip white, with mauve-brown marks between teeth. Not common in the barrier islands of SW Florida.

Shell size to 5 mm; shell biconical. Surface smooth, glossy. Shell base with fine, incised spiral lines. Aperture narrow. Outer lip internally with four tooth-like projections. Color tan with crescent-shaped brown markings. This is a highly variable species throughout its distribution range. The additional picture (SEM) shows the protoconch and also how little shell sculpture detail there is in this species. The live animal was collected on seaweed after a storm, on Sanibel, January 2015.

Shell size up to 5 Shell slender (among the most slender columbellids), whorls slightly convex, aperture length about 1/3 shell length. Sculpture of incised spiral lines. Shell cream color, fresh shells more strongly colored, usually orange-brown. Protoconch of 1.5 smooth whorls. The photo shows a 4 mm shell collected by Phyllis Sharp at Gulfside City Park Beach on February 2016, and the one in the supplementary image was found by Rebecca Mensch off West Gulf Drive on Sanibel, in October 2015.