Blood-stained Dove Shell, Columbella haemastoma

Blood-stained Dove Shell, Columbella haemastoma. Shell collected off the beach at Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, February 2022. Size: 1.9 cm (0.7 inches) x 1.2 cm (0.5 inches). Collection, identification, and photographs courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur.

Blood-stained Dove Shell, Columbella haemastoma. Shell collected of the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, December 2011. Size: 2.2 cm (0.9 inches) x 1.2 cm (0.5 inches).

Blood-stained Dove Shell, Columbella haemastoma. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, May 2025. Size: 2.2 cm (0.9 inches) x 1.3 cm (0.5 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Phylogeny: The Blood-strained Dove Shell, Columbella haemastoma (G.B. Sowerby l, 1832), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Columbellidae Family of Dove Shells. The genus Columbella is one of seventy-seven genera in this family, and there are eighteen species in this genus. This species is also known as the Orange-lipped Dove Shell.

Description: The Blood-strained Dove Shell is diamond shaped and has a smooth surface. The top of the body whorl is extra wide, forming a “spout” at the aperture; the aperture has dentition on both sides. The shell’s color is a combination of very dark brown, chestnut, reddish-brown, or orange-brown blotches, interrupted by white blotches or zigzags. The aperture is orange to reddish-orange, giving way to a white interior. Blood-strained Dove Shells reach a maximum length of 2.5 cm (1.0 inch) and 1.3 cm (0.5 inches) in height.

Habitat and Distribution: Blood-stained Doves are found under rocks and on mud between rocks in the intertidal zone, and to depths up to 15 m (50 feet). They are a tropical Eastern Pacific species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, along the central and northwest coasts of the Baja Peninsula and north of La Paz, Baja California, in the Sea of Cortez.

Ecology and Behavior:  Blood-stained Doves are omnivorous grazers and predatory carnivores.  They are preyed upon by crabs, fish, predatory mollusks and shorebirds. These shells are gonochoric and reproduce sexually with internal fertilization. Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective the Blood-strained Dove has not been formally evaluated. However, they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be considered to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: None