(Linnaeus)
Description (shell);
Shell a tall glossy cone of up to 15 tumid whorls, circular in section, not meeting at sutures but held together by fusion of thin transverse costae. The costae form prosocline spiral keels down the shell. Each costa meets the corresponding one on the next whorl, but not those alongside on the same whorl. Shell smooth between costae. Aperture almost circular, with rather inflated margin; inner lip reflected over bases of seven costae (E. clathrus-drawing).
Size:
Up to 40 x 12 mm.
Colour:
Off-white, often with brown spiral bands.
Animal:
Cephalic tentacles slender, with eyes at their base. Foot with straight, double-edged anterior and median grooves on the sole. Operculum with a depressed nucleus.
Habitat:
Sublittoral, on sandy or muddy substrata to 70 m; may be found at LWST when spawning (long threads of pyramidal capsules).
Distribution:
Distributed from Mediterranean to Norway and Kattegat; widely distributed, not uncommon around the British Isles and Helgoland (Distr. E. clathrus).