About Opeatostoma pseudodon (Burrow, 1815)
Opeatostoma pseudodon (originally described by Burrow in 1815) has shells that range from 29 to 75 millimetres (1.1 to 3.0 inches) in length. These shells are white or brown, marked with thin brown or black stripes, while the body of the snail itself is reddish. This species possesses the longest apertural tooth of any known gastropod. This long spine or tooth grows from the tip of the snail’s aperture, giving the species its common name, and the structure is used to anchor the snail into sandy and coral rubble substrates. This gastropod is distributed along the tropical west coast of North America, occurring from Southern Baja California in Mexico south to Peru, and it is also found in the Galápagos.
