Strawberry topshell (Clanculus pharaonius)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Mollusca · Class: Gastropoda · Order: Trochida · Family: Trochidae · Genus: Clanculus.

Accepted name: Clanculus pharaonius · Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 211270.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Trochus pharaonius Linnaeus, 1758; Trochus stefaninii Nardini, 1934 †.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=211270 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Clanculus pharaonius. 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 on sand between rocks (Ref. 130068).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 129875) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Clanculus-pharaonius.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

182 georeferenced occurrence records for Clanculus pharaonius are published through GBIF from 18 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 49 distinct locations from a sample of 182 records, omitting 22 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: Egypt (64); Saudi Arabia (30); Oman (28); Israel (15); Yemen (13); United Arab Emirates (7); Madagascar (6); Sudan (6); Djibouti (3); India (2); Australia (1); Eritrea (1); Indonesia (1); Jordan (1); Kenya (1).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Red Sea; Madagascan Exclusive Economic Zone; Madagascar; Persian Gulf; Gulf of Oman; Omani part of the Arabian Sea.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 4358103) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=4358103&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=211270 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

It is the type species of this genus.

The size of the shell varies between 13 mm and 25 mm. The very strong and solid shell has a depressed conoidal shape with a rounded periphery and a profoundly umbilicate axis. It is densely granulate. The overall coloration of the whorls and the spire is dark strawberry red or coral red.

The spire is conoidal with scarcely convex outlines. The about 6 whorls are somewhat convex and separated by well impressed sutures. The body whorl is large and deflected anteriorly. It bears 18 or 19 crowded, closely granose cinguli, of which the 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, 9th and two upon the base are composed of alternate black and white granules.

Upon the base of the shell the granulation is finer. The base is convex, a trifle indented toward the center. The oblique aperture is subquadrangonal. The peristome has a marginal row of black and white dots.

The outer lip is plicate within, with a short plicifbrm tubercle above. The basal lip, the outer margin of the umbilicus and the parietal wall are provided with wrinkle-like plicae. The columella is very oblique, terminating below in a square prominence, contorted above, and inserted on the side of the umbilicus. The umbilicus is white, and smooth within the strongly radiately plicate marginal rib, smooth.

Widely occurring in the shallow subtidal zone throughout the tropics of the Indo-Pacific region, from Hawaiian Islands to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman and Madagascar.

Source: Wikipedia: Clanculus pharaonius — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clanculus_pharaonius (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.