Ribbed Macron, Macron aethiops

Ribbed Macron, Macron aethiops. Size: 8.1 cm (3.2 inches) x 5.0 cm (2.0 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis.

The Ribbed Macron, Macron aethiops (Reeve, 1847), is a member of the Pisaniidae Family of False Triton Shells that is also known as the Ethiopian Macron. They have stout shells that consist of five or six straight sided whorls, a moderate spire, a short, curved and wide siphonal canal, and a large oval aperture. The body whorl is large body whorls and they have numerous, strong, fairly flat ribs that spiral along the whorls. Both the exterior and the interior of the shells is white and the periostracum is thick and greenish-brown to brown. Ribbed Macron Shells reach a maximum length of 8.7 cm (3.4 inches).

The Ribbed Macron are found attached to rocks, on and within muddy sand substrate between rocks in the intertidal zone to depths up to 10 feet. They range from Guerrero Negro, Baja California to the coast of the central mainland. They are rare in the Sea of Cortez.

Synonyms include Buccinum aethiops, Pseudoliva kellettii, and Purpura trochlea.