Shell · Genus
Terebra
Auger shells
Auger shells (Terebra and other Terebridae) are long, slender, many-whorled snails like miniature drills, the marlinspike Terebra maculata reaching 25 cm. They are inexpensive and common in shell lots; the genus has been split into many by recent molecular work, which WoRMS reflects. Fossil augers occur from the Eocene.
| Habitat | Sand, shallow tropical and warm temperate water |
|---|---|
| Regions | Indo-Pacific, Caribbean, Eastern Pacific |
| Family | Terebridae |
| Authority (WoRMS) | Bruguière, 1789· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Status (WoRMS) | accepted· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Extinct (WoRMS) | no· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Classification (WoRMS) | Animalia › Mollusca › Gastropoda › Neogastropoda › Terebridae· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
CITES and protection
Not CITES-listed.
Care (Byne's disease)
Long slender shells are stable but fragile at the tip.
Elsewhere
- WoRMS AphiaID: 160427
- Wikidata: Q2012523
- WoRMS / MolluscaBase record
- Wikipedia: Terebra
- CITES Appendices
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Terebra" (Shell family). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/shells/terebra. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-terebra,
title = {Terebra},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/shells/terebra}},
year = {2026},
note = {Shell family article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, worms, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.