About Scaphella junonia (Lamarck, 1804)
Shell description: The largest recorded shell of Scaphella junonia measures 154 mm in length. This species’ shell is cream-colored, with around 12 spiral rows of somewhat square-shaped brown dots. Its large protoconch is tan, and the shell’s aperture makes up almost three-quarters of the shell’s total length. Distribution: Scaphella junonia occurs from Florida all the way to Texas and across the Gulf of Mexico. One subspecies, Scaphella junonia johnstoneae, is found off the coast of Alabama, and is the official state shell of Alabama. It is named after Kathleen Yerger Johnstone, an amateur conchologist from Alabama who published two books about seashell collecting. A second subspecies, Scaphella junonia butleri, is found off the coast of Yucatan.
