Large brown screw shell with a pointed tip. It was introduced from NZ to Tasmania about 80 years ago with live shipments of oysters and now occurs in massive aggregations. The species now poses a threat to local species, because living and dead shells have carpeted the seabed in places such the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, greatly altering the habitat. The numbers of the native screw shell Gazameda gunnii seem to decline following the arrival of Maoricolpus roseus in an area. Gazameda gunnii is smaller, with a more mottled appearance, and has fine beads forming ridges around the shell.

• Max Size: 9 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 9.6-19.6°C
• Depth: 3-150m
• Habitat: Soft sediment

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Frequent (12% 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: Many (56 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.