What is a Junonia?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the world of mollusks, (generally soft bodied animals with shells made of calcium carbonate) there are bivalves and univalves. Bivalves have two shells that come together to form a dense against predators like clams and univalves which only have a single shells, like Junonias. Squid, cuttlefish and octopuses are also mollusks, but lack any type of shell.

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Mollusks are the second largest group of invertebrates on earth and there are over 85,000 mollusks living today. It is estimated that the fossil record contains another 60,000 to 100,000 species! A fossil subspecies, Scaphella floridana has been found in Late Pleistocene deposits ranging in age from 11,700 to 129,000 years ago. Modern day mollusks represent over 20% of all known living organisms in our oceans.

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Junonias are found throughout the tropical Western Atlantic which includes the east coast of Florida, Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. They are fairly deep water creatures living at depths from 80 to over 375 feet in depth. This is one of the key reasons they are so uncommon to find undamaged on beaches as it takes powerful wave action to drive them to shore.

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Little is known about their life cycle including egg production, but very rare examples have been found of less than one-half inch.

 

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Two of the largest examples known are slightly over six inches! Because the world's records change all the time and new discoveries are made every day, there are two examples of shells that held the title. One example is on display at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum and the other can be seen at Sanibel Seashells.

 

Junonias are carnivorous and feed at night on other mollusks like the common Lettered Olive. The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, located on Sanibel Island, Florida has done the latest scientific research on Junonias and their feeding habits. A PDF of their ground breaking research may be found here.