Cassis fimbriata

Fimbriate helmet

Cassis fimbriata, Photo: Graham Edgar

Same Genus

Cassis cornuta

Cassis tuberosa

Distribution

Temperate Australasia

Description

High angular shell with broken brown and white lines that spiral around, and a large white foot. This helmet is commonly seen by divers at night when it moves out from under sand onto reefs to attack sea urchins.

Information

Max Size: 15 cm

Sea Temperature Range: 14-21°C

Depth: 0-200m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.

Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Not Evaluated

Occurrence: Infrequent (8.5% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.

Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney