Common Atlantic Bubble Shell (Bulla straita Brugière, 1792): Scroll-Shaped Bubble

The Common Atlantic Bubble Shell is approximately 1 inch long. The shell is glossy brown or reddish-gray, perhaps subtly mottled or banded. It is oval in shape and inflated with a very depressed spire. The aperture (opening) is longer than the main body of the shell, and rounded at both ends. — Think of the shell as being shaped a little like a short, loosely-rolled scroll. There is a white area at the base of the inner lip. The interior of the shell is white or light-colored. The Bubble is thin and lightweight.

A gastropod which is most active at night, the Common Atlantic Bubble snail inhabits grassy sand and mud flats from coastal North Carolina to Brazil; and in Bermuda. It feeds on small mollusks, swallowing them whole and crushing them with its interior calcareous plates.

Notes

The shell pictured here was found at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
For more information on the Common Atlantic Bubble Shell see:
- R. Tucker Abbott and Percy A. Morris, Shells of the Atlantic & Gulf Coasts & the West Indies.
- Percy A. Morris, A Field Guide to the Shells of Our Atlantic Coast.
- Nancy Rhyne, Carolina Seashells.
- Edward E. Ruppert & Richard S. Fox, Seashore Animals of the Southeast.
Classification: Family Bullidae; Superfamily Bulloidea; Suborder Cephalaspidea; Order Opisthobranchia.
Scientific nomenclature is subject to change, due to ongoing research. The above classification corresponds to that published by the Conchologists of America, Inc.
Digital formatting is by Jonathan Mitchell.

Common Atlantic Bubble Shell:Night-Happy Bubble

Notes

Common Atlantic Bubble Shell:
Night-Happy Bubble