Three-spine cavoline

Diacria trispinosa

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth10–1,156 m
Water temperature10–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, June, and December
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Saryu Mae 前朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Saryu Mae 前朝琉 · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Diacria trispinosa is a holoplanktonic species of gastropods belonging to the family Cavoliniidae. It is classified as a mesoplankton. It is a pteropod.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Diacria trispinosa”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 29 records
February: 27 records
March: 54 records
April: 19 records
May: 35 records
June: 56 records
July: 27 records
August: 20 records
September: 22 records
October: 38 records
November: 46 records
December: 54 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 10–1,156 m · Deepest record: 4,783 m

0–10 m: 24 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 19 records
30–40 m: 4 records
40–50 m: 4 records
50–60 m: 10 records
60–70 m: 7 records
70–80 m: 21 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 3 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 138 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–30 °C

10–12 °C: 14 records
12–14 °C: 16 records
14–16 °C: 27 records
16–18 °C: 36 records
18–20 °C: 36 records
20–22 °C: 151 records
22–24 °C: 56 records
24–26 °C: 57 records
26–28 °C: 124 records
28–30 °C: 36 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Three-spine cavoline, three-spine cavoline

Names in 2 more languages

German: Dreistachlige Diacria
Japanese: ヒラカメガイ

Other scientific names: Cavolinia reeveana, Cavolinia trispinosa, Cleodora compressa, Cleodora infundibulum, Diacria atlantica, Diacria bisulcata, Diacria rubecula, Diacria spinosa, Hyalaea depressa, Hyalaea mucronata, Hyalaea reeveana, Hyalaea trispinosa

Similar species

Diacria maculata
Diacria piccola
Fanged Sea Butterfly
Cavolinia inflexa
Leaf Sea Butterfly
Cavolinia tridentata
Long-Snout Cavoline
Diacavolinia longirostris
Gibbose Cavoline
Cavolinia gibbosa

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,204 open-data records from 1821 to 2026.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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