No photo available
Horned helmet snail
Cassis cornuta
Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 208963, checked 2026-10-31).
- English
- Horned helmet snail
- Scientific
- Cassis cornuta
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Sea snails
- Family
- Cassidae (helmet shells)
- Maximum size
- Up to about 36 cm (length)
- Depth and habitat
- Sea floor (benthic), recorded from 2 to 30 m
- IUCN status
- NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)
Description
The horned helmet snail is one of the largest sea snails, with a heavy shell up to about 30 cm or more, a row of blunt horns on the shoulder and a broad, orange-tinged shield around the opening. It lives on sand near reefs and preys on sea urchins.
In the Maldives
Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=2); iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=9, 8 observers).
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Cassis-cornuta.html
- marinespecies.org /aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=208963
- inaturalist.org /taxa/200852
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Cassis_cornuta_shell.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.