Semicassis pyrum
Pear helmet | Phalium pyrum
Same Genus
Distribution
Temperate Africa, Temperate Australasia
Description
Smooth helmet shell with a cream basal colour and light brown blotches. It stays buried under sand during the day and moves about at night searching for prey. The species is normally collected in trawls along the southern Australian coast but enters shallow water off sandy beaches in Tasmania.
Information
Max Size: 9 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 13-19.6°C
Depth: 3-480m
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 (2.5% 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