Scotch bonnet (sea snail)
The Scotch bonnet is a medium-sized to large species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Cassinae, the helmet shells and bonnet shells. The common name "Scotch bonnet" alludes to the general outline and color pattern of the shell, which vaguely resemble a tam o' shanter, a traditional Scottish bonnet or cap. The shell is egg-shaped and fairly large, 2 to 4 inches in maximum dimension, with a regular pattern of yellow, orange or brown squarish spots. The surface sculpture of the shell is highly variable: the surface can be smooth and polished, have grooves, be granulated, or even be nodulose on the shoulder of the whorls.
Scotch bonnet (sea snail)
A varix is visible on the left in this ventral view of a slightly discolored shell of Semicassis granulata from North Carolina, United States.
The sea potato, Echinocardium cordatum, is the favored echinoid prey of S. granulata in the Mediterranean.
The blue crab sometimes feeds on the Scotch bonnet.
The Cassidae are a taxonomic family of medium-sized, large, and sometimes very large sea snails commonly called helmet snails or bonnet snails. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Tonnoidea and the clade Littorinimorpha.
Cassidae
Casmaria erinaceus
Cassis cornuta
Cypraecassis rufa