Secret Clanculus (Clanculus clanguloides)
Source-cited species reference: taxonomy from WoRMS, biology from SeaLifeBase, occurrence map from GBIF, description from Wikipedia.
Clanculus clanguloides, common name the secret clanculus, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
- Scientific name
- Clanculus clanguloides
- Authority
- (W. Wood, 1828)
- Family
- Trochidae
- Order
- Trochida
- Habitat zone
- benthic
- Gbif occurrence records
- 87
Classification (WoRMS)
Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Mollusca · Class: Gastropoda · Order: Trochida · Family: Trochidae · Genus: Clanculus.
Accepted name: Clanculus clanguloides · Authority: (W. Wood, 1828) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 211267.
Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Trochus clanguloides W. Wood, 1828.
Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=211267 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)
Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Clanculus clanguloides. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.
Habitat zone: benthic · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.
SeaLifeBase notes: Found in subtidal to 30 m (Ref. 75835).
Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 90091) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Clanculus-clanguloides.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)
87 georeferenced occurrence records for Clanculus clanguloides are published through GBIF from 16 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 34 distinct locations from a sample of 87 records, omitting 9 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Most records by country or area: Japan (32); Australia (15); Fiji (11); Christmas Island (5); American Samoa (4); Vanuatu (4); India (3); Marshall Islands (3); New Caledonia (3); Hong Kong (1); Indonesia (1); Kiribati (1); Sri Lanka (1); Philippines (1); Thailand (1).
Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Tanzanian Coast; Kenyan coast; Gulf of Mannar.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 4358090) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=4358090&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=211267 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Description and natural history (Wikipedia)
The height of the shell varies between 10 mm and 12 mm, its diameter between 12 mm and 15 mm. The very solid, deeply, narrowly false-umbilicate shell has a globose-conic shape. It is fawn colored, lighter beneath and roseate at the apex. The shell is sharply granose-lirate, usually with every second rib articulated with dots of white or black or both. It contains about 6 whorls. The upper ones are nearly fiat, the penultimate and last convex, the former with 7 or 8 spiral distinctly granose lirae, the last with about 18, of which the 7th usually is upon the periphery. The interstices are finely obliquely striate. The body whorl is deflected anteriorly, and rounded at the periphery. The base of the shell is somewhat convex. The oblique aperture is small and contracted. The outer lip bears within a strong tooth above, and an inconspicuous rather acute thread at the place of the periphery. The basal lip is expanded, curved and slightly denticulate. The columella is very oblique, slightly tortuous above and enters very deeply, terminating below in a strong plicate tooth, and with a smooth margin, save for a small denticle immediately above the basal tooth. The parietal tract is wrinkled. The umbilicus has a plicate-denticulate border.
In the typical form, the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th lirae, and one or two upon the base are articulated with black.
This marine species occurs in the Central and East Indian Ocean; off East Africa, East India, Indo-China, Indo-Malaysia, and Oceania; in the tropical Indo-West Pacific and off Queensland, Australia.
Source: Wikipedia: Clanculus clanguloides — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clanculus_clanguloides (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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