Family: Naticidae, Moon Shells view all from this family

Description 1 1/2-5" (3.8-12.7 cm) high, equally wide or almost as wide. Almost round, smooth; grayish-white to brownish-gray, early whorls darker. Spire low, broadly conical, with gently convex whorls. Body whorl evenly rounded, or in large specimens slightly flattened below suture. Umbilicus deep, only slightly covered by thickened, white columella. Aperture semicircular. Operculum thin, horny, light brown.

Habitat In sand, intertidally to water 1200' (366 m) deep; only in deeper water in the southern part of its range.

Range New Brunswick and the Gulf of St. Lawrence to North Carolina.

Discussion This shell is very common in New England. In the moist sands exposed at low tide, low mounds may betray the presence of live snails as they plow below the surface with their powerful foot, looking for clams. Using their radulae, they attack the clams by boring neat, round holes in the valves. A related species, same range, is the Spotted Northern Moon Shell (L. triseriata), which is much smaller, has 3 rows of brownish spots, and is found in water 6-350' (1.8-107 m) deep.