Cat's-eye shell

Turbo petholatus

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth7–38 m
Water temperature15–30 °C
Best monthsFebruary, May, and September
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) Tim, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Turbo petholatus is a species of sea snail, marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinidae.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 34 records
February: 75 records
March: 40 records
April: 28 records
May: 67 records
June: 38 records
July: 40 records
August: 45 records
September: 51 records
October: 43 records
November: 44 records
December: 42 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 7–38 m · Deepest record: 61 m

0–10 m: 14 records
10–20 m: 24 records
20–30 m: 25 records
30–40 m: 20 records
40–50 m: 5 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–30 °C

14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 4 records
22–24 °C: 6 records
24–26 °C: 61 records
26–28 °C: 139 records
28–30 °C: 149 records

Photos

(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Darren Obbard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Dustin VanOverbeke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Cat's-eye shell, Tapestry turban, cat's-eye shell, tapestry turban

Names in 2 more languages

German: Gobelinturban, Gobelin-Turbanschnecke, Katzenaugenschnecke
Japanese: リュウテン

Other scientific names: Lunatica aruginosa, Lunatica porphyria, Turbo (Turbo) petholatus, Turbo (Turbo) roxas, Turbo cingulata, Turbo dinegrata, Turbo obscura, Turbo porphyrites, Turbo roxas

Similar species

Silvermouth turban
Turbo argyrostomus
Gold-mouthed turban
Turbo chrysostomus
Brown dwarf turban
Turbo bruneus
Ribbed Turban
Turbo intercostalis
Giant green turban
Turbo marmoratus
Turbo sparverius

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).
596 open-data records from 1758 to 2022.
Species data updated October 31, 2026.

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