(Montagu, 1803)
Description (shell):
Shell similar to Raphitoma linearis . Readily distinguished by pattern of shell sculpture; costae opisthocline, narrower, and more numerous (18-19 on penultimate); spiral striae more numerous (>20 on last whorl, >7 on penultimate whorl), interacting with costae to produce prominent bulbous tubercles. Aperture narrower than in R. linearis , with 10-11 internal teeth in older shells.
Size:
Up to 20 x 8 mm.
Colour:
Reddish-brown or purplish, often with white outer lip; throat and siphonal canal not white (R. purpurea).
Animal:
Eyes about two-thirds of way up tentacles; foot white with chalk-white speckles, siphon purplish.
Habitat:
On sand, gravel, and stony bottoms at 10-100 m; at LWST, among weeds (including Zostera ), under stones, and in rock-crevices on shores in southern British Isles. Not common.
Distribution:
Distributed from Mediterranean to northern Norway (Distr. R. purpurea).