Southwest Florida Shells

by José H. Leal

Family Mangeliidae

Ithycythara lanceolata

(C.B. Adams, 1850)

Spear Mangelia

Shell to 12 The slender shell has a sculpture consisting of 6-8 well-marked axial ribs. Rib may form a "peak" in the middle of each whorl, where the whorl is wider. The shell is relatively abundant off the East Coast of Florida, but is also present in the Gulf of Mexico. The shell is usually white, but may present reddish-brown hues, mostly at the anterior end. The shells in the illustrations were both collected by Herb Chapin on Sanibel Island. The supplementary illustration shows a juvenile shell.