Regarding the above shell, Bill subsequently emailed that "I went out in the garage yesterday and found two more specimens. The specimen illustrated (above) is the best of the three specimens but it appears likely that all three were dead collected - presumably by a dredge."








CLICK HERE for detailed description and more photos of Bulla occidentalis A. Adams, 1850.

Marlo-here's one I've had several years.

Bulla solida
trawled at 60/120 feet of water on muddy bottom.
Dry Tortugas,Florida.1979
45.8mm

4/27/2012 Email correspondence from Emilio Garcia:

"I have not collected Bulla (solida) in the Gulf of Mexico, but I have a specimen dredged by Frank Frumar south of Dry Tortugas (see attachment). Frank is a well- known collector for his deep- water dredgings off Key West and ... he is completely reliable. He has collected a number of specimens ... from the same locality."




Additional comments:

4/26/12 Harry Lee reported:

"Clearly Bulla solida is submerged in the northern part of its range, which probably doesn't reach far into the Gulf of Mexico. I have one from 'off Key West, dredged in 50 m by Jim Phelps, ex Jerry Bijur.'

Since it has a conspicuous and relatively easy-to-identify shell, its absence from well-collected more northerly waters is probably not artifactual..."