150-180m deep, Estepona, Málaga, Andalucia, S. Spain. 16mm.
Original pictures provided by J. M. Martin (ES).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) –
« Natica notabilis (remarkable): shell globosely fusiform (being pointed at the apex and base), thick, opaque, rather glossy. Sculpture: none except irregular lines of growth. Colour yellowish-white, with three equidistant bands on the body-whorl, composed of reddish-brown streaks, which are close-set and obliquely arranged ; one of these bands encircles the middle and is broader than the others, the upper one lies just below the suture, and the third or lowermost is placed below the periphery ; there is also a small blotch of the same colour above the umbilical pad. Spire short, but prominent and pointed. Whorls 5 convex, compressed at the top […] Suture slight, but distinct, not channelled. Mouth semilunar […] Outer lip thin, curved but not inflected at the top. Inner lip narrowly spread on the upper part and thickened at the base. Umbilicus contracted by a thick but small pad, so as to form a crescentic groove. Operculum chitinous, ear-shaped, horn-colour, indistinctly striated in the line of growth, and having a small lateral spire of three whorls, defined by an overlapping and raised edge. »