Description
Also known as Bishops Mitre, Mitre, Mitre Snail.
Found during the day, burrowed in the sand or under rocks, over intertidal zones, in the open at night foraging for food.
They feed nocturnally on benthic invertebrates.
Length - 8cm
Depth - 1-30m
Widespread Indo-West Pacific
Mitres shells can be smooth or notched, the shell resembles a bishops mitre, hence the name!
Mitre shells are usually predatory but sometimes the scavange. Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitra_papalis
1 comment
Posted by Tony ArioliIn the description above, it is said that this shell is "also known as "Bishops Mitre." That particular shell is a different species (Mitra mitra), also going under the name of "Episcopal Miter." It's shell has a smooth exterior, smoother shoulders at the sutures (Mitra papalis has small coronations or knobs on them), and the spots are larger, being of an orange coloration - very rarely of a dark crimson hue. Mitra papalis has smaller spots and/or blotches of a dark crimson to maroon coloration.