About Malea pomum (Linnaeus, 1758)
Malea pomum (Linnaeus, 1758) is a marine gastropod species. The shell of this species measures between 40 mm and 90 mm. It is a somewhat thick, ovate, inflated shell with a whitish base color, patterned with square yellow to reddish spots that alternate with dull white spots along the transverse ribs. The short spire is made up of six convex whorls that are slightly flattened at the upper part; the whorls are marked with equally convex, wide, closely spaced ribs separated by narrow, shallow furrows. The aperture is somewhat narrow, has teeth along both edges, and is yellow on the interior. The outer lip is expanded, especially toward the base, and forms a very thick convex margin on the outside; the outer edge of this margin is sharp and undulated, and the inner surface bears ten to twelve widely spaced transverse teeth that resemble folds. The inner lip is a smooth, convex, white plate that partially covers the body of the shell. The columella has a fairly deep notch, above which several thick transverse folds are visible, along with other fewer, more oblique, less clearly marked folds. The soft body of the animal is a clean white, marked along its outer edge with triangular violet-brown streaks. Its tentacles are long, slender and pointed, with brown spots arranged in triple rings. The trunk is white, and the proboscis is very long, with brown and violet markings at its tip. This marine species is found in the Red Sea, the tropical Indo-West Pacific, and the Philippines; it also occurs off the coasts of Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritius, the Mascarenes, Houtman Abrolhos, and China, and off the Australian coasts of the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.
