About Phalium areola (Linnaeus, 1758)
Adult shells of Phalium areola range in size between 35 mm and 130 mm. These medium-sized shells have an oval, acuminate shape, with a fairly narrow aperture. The outer lip is folded back and bears internal denticles. The shell shoulder is neither angulate nor plicate, and the anterior prickles on the outer lip are not visible. The shell surface is white, marked with five rows of large, square red-brown spots; these spots give the species its common name. On later whorls, spiral striae are present anterior to the whorl and above the shoulders. This marine species is found in the Indian Ocean along Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, and Tanzania, as well as off the southern African coast from KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique. It also occurs in Melanesia and along the coast of Samoa.
