Euspira heros
species of mollusc
Euspira heros, the northern moon snail, is a species of large sea snail in the family Naticidae. This large snail is rather uncommon intertidally, but is much more common subtidally. This species, like all moon snails, feeds voraciously on clams and other snails.
Description
The shell of this species is globular and can, under the right conditions, grow up to 125 mm (4.9 in) long.
The operculum is large, ear-shaped in outline, and is corneous and somewhat transparent. On beaches where the shell of this species washed up commonly, the operculum will usually also be found washed up in the drift line.
Distribution
The distribution of Euspira heros falls within the range: 51.5°N to 33°N; 76°W to 65°W. This western Atlantic species occurs in:
Canada: Labrador, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick
USA: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Maine
There is a sibling species on the Pacific coast of North America: Neverita lewisii.
Habitat
Euspira heros lives on sand substrates in infralittoral, and circalittoral parts and estuary.
It has been found at the surface to depths up to 435 m (1,427 ft)
Predation
Empty shells of clams and snails, including other moon snails, display evidence of predation by a moon snail when they are seen to have a neat "countersunk" hole drilled in them.
The public source identifies “Euspira heros” as species of mollusc. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Euspira, heros and species.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Euspira heros”, the useful work is to connect “species of mollusc” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3172991. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Euspira heros” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.