Hastula cinerea (Born 1778)

Hastula cinerea, the grey Atlantic auger, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Terebridae, the auger snails.^[1]

Description

The length of the shell varies between 16 mm and 68 mm.
Protoconch is a very dark/black sharp tip, and a horny brown operculum is present.
No periostracum, shell is glossy overall.

Distribution

This shallow-water species occurs in the Atlantic Ocean off Angola, Cape Verde, Senegal and Brazil; in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Lesser Antilles; in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar.^[1]

References

• Dautzenberg, Ph. (1929). Contribution à l'étude de la faune de Madagascar: Mollusca marina testacea. Faune des colonies françaises, III(fasc. 4). Société d'Editions géographiques, maritimes et coloniales: Paris. 321–636, plates IV-VII pp.
• Bouchet P. (1983 ["1982"]) Les Terebridae (Mollusca, Gastropoda) de l'Atlantique oriental. Bollettino Malacologico 18: 185–216.
• Bratcher T. & Cernohorsky W.O. (1987). Living terebras of the world. A monograph of the recent Terebridae of the world. American Malacologists, Melbourne, Florida & Burlington, Massachusetts. 240pp.
• Terryn Y. (2007). Terebridae: A Collectors Guide. Conchbooks & NaturalArt. 59pp + plates.