Harpa davidis


Harpa davidis, common name the Madras harp or David harp, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Harpidae, the harp snails.

Distribution

This species is widespread over Indo-Pacific, from eastern Africa to Hawaii and it is present in the South Eastern India and in the Andaman Sea.

Habitat

The Madras harp lives on sublittoral and offshore sandy bottoms at depths of 5 to 250 m.

Description

Shells of Harpa davidis can reach a size of. These shells are usually smoothy and glossy, pale brown or reddish-brown, with strong axial ribs, a wide aperture and characteristic decorative markings. The ventral side of body whorl usually shows two-three large brown blotches, but may also be completely brown.