Southwest Florida Shells

by José H. Leal

Family Olividae

Olivella pusilla

(Marrat, 1871)

Tiny Dwarf Olive

Shell size up to 8 mm; shell bullet-shaped, with about 5 whorls, and short spire. Apex very small. Parietal region with thin glossy callus. Outer lip relatively thick. Columella with one or two folds. Suture channeled. Color variable, usually blackish, dark-mahogany, or bluish-gray with variable patterns of darker spiral bands and faint flame-like markings. Operculum present. Very common on sandy mud flats. The dark living specimen in the additional picture was photographed by Amy Tripp on a sand bar on the eastern side of the Jolly Bridge, Naples, in November 2011.