Biodiversity & Conservation

Painted top shell - Calliostoma zizyphinum

Calliostoma zizyphinum

Image Paul Naylor - Painted top shell Image width ca 3 cm.
Image copyright information

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Distribution map

Calliostoma zizyphinum recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Calliostoma zizyphinum?
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Calliostoma zizyphinum is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Gastropoda Snails, slugs & sea butterflies
Authority (Linnaeus, 1758)
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Common on all coasts of Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Calliostoma zizyphinum is found on seaweed covered rocky shores from extreme low water to 300 m depth in the sublittoral.
Text page icon Description Calliostoma zizyphinum has a regularly conical, straight sided shell, up to 3 cm high and 3 cm broad, with a sharp apex and a flat base. The shell has regular spiral grooves and ridges and up to 12-13 whorls. The shell is very 'clean' and can be yellowish, pale pink or violet with streaks and blotches of brown, red or purple. Occasionally, individuals are white. The body tissue is also colourful and may be flecked with purple, crimson, reddish brown and yellow. The foot has 4-5 pairs of epipodial tentacles.
Identifying features
  • Shell is up to 3 cm high and 3 cm broad.
  • Shell is conical, straight sided and clean.
  • The base of the shell is flat.
  • The foot has 4-5 parapodial tentacles.
  • The colour of the shell is variable, but generally purple/pink.
Additional information icon Additional information The white morph Calliostoma zizyphinum, var. lyonsi, is sometimes considered a separate species (Fretter & Graham, 1994).

This review can be cited as follows:

Susie Ballerstedt 2008. Calliostoma zizyphinum. Painted top shell. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 04/02/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2849>