Pusia tricolor (Gmelin, 1790)
Western Mediterranean.
Predator in the infralittoral-circalittoral.
Original taxon: Voluta tricolor.
The main difference with savignyi resides in these purplish intercostal dots that appear above and below the white band. The longitudinal sculpture is also less pronounced. – 45m deep, Cannizzaro, Catania, E. Sicily. 7mm.
Synonyms: exilis, gracilis…
If the colour and the shape can vary a bit, the pattern remains constant. San Feliu de Guíxols, Catalunya, NE. Spain.
10m deep, Estepona, Málaga, Andalucia, S. Spain. 7mm.
Notice the labial teeth inside the aperture.
Extreme variations in shape and colour:
Left: 30m deep, on detritic bottom, Mijas, Málaga. 9mm.
Right: 80m deep, on detritic bottom with Corallium rubrum, Gibraltar Strait.
1-2m deep, in algae, Palermo, NW. Sicilia. 6,5mm.
There are always some weak costae, which never appear in Pusia granum, as noticed by S. Payne, UK.
A dark and slender pair from 12m deep, Scilla, Messina Strait, SW. Italy. 6,5-7mm.
Same spot: specimens with stronger sculpture. 5,5-7mm.
Cap l’Abeille, Banyuls-sur-Mer, Pyrénées-Orientales, Occitania, S. France. Original picture provided by P. Corbrion for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC).
25m deep, in grit, on sediments, between Sapri and Acquafredda, Campania, SW. Italy. 6,3mm.
The protoconch in Pusia tricolor.
Scilla, 12m deep. 6,2mm.

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