''Cassis madagascariensis'', common name the queen helmet, is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family

Cassidae 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.Go ...

, the helmet shells and bonnet shells.Rosenberg, G. (2015). Cassis madagascariensis Lamarck, 1822. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=419778 on 2016-01-05 Helmet-snail 8679

Distribution

This species occurs in the tropical Western Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The specific name "madagascarensis" literally means "of Madagascar", but this was a misunderstanding of the type locality by the original author.

Description

The maximum recorded

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

length is 409 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". '' PLoS ONE'' 5(1): e8776. .

Habitat

United States Virgin Islands, St. John. Emperor/Queen Helmet Snails frequently observed (photographed) in depths as shallow as two feet. This contradicts the previously reported minimum depth of 3 m. The maximum recorded depth is 183 m.

Human uses

Cameo of Sardinian conch, Ascione e Antonio Mennella 1925, Museo Ascione

Shells of ''Cassis madagascariensis'' are used in jewellery to make cameos. In the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

the shell is boiled and the boiled water of the shell is used as a traditional remedy for Flu and fever like symptoms.

References

* Rosenberg, G.; Moretzsohn, F.; García, E. F. (2009). ''Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico,'' Pp. 579–699 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2941306 Cassidae Gastropods described in 1822