Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell, Crucibulum umbrella

Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell, Crucibulum umbrella. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, March 2025. Size: 3.2 cm (1.3 inches) x 2.9 cm (1.1 inches) x 0.6 cm (0.2 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell, Crucibulum umbrella. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, March 2025. Size: 4.2 cm (1.7 inches) x 3.9 cm (1.5 inches) x 0.8 cm (0.3 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell, Crucibulum umbrella. Shell collected off  the beach in the greater Loreto area, Loreto, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Size: 5.1 cm (2.0 inches) x 4.2 cm (1.6 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell, Crucibulum umbrella. Shell collected off  the beach in the greater Loreto area, Loreto, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Size: 4.0 cm (1.6 inches) x 3.0 cm (1.5 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Phylogeny: The Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell, Crucibulum umbrella (Deshayes, 1830), is a member of the Calyptraeidae Family of Cup-and-Saucer and Slipper Limpet Shells. The Crucibulum Genus is one of eleven genera in the Calyptraeidae Family, and there are nineteen species in the Crucibulum Genus. In Mexico they are known as Picacho Paraguas.

Description: The Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shell has an irregular outline, with most being circular or oval in shape. Their apex is central and fairly high.  The exterior of the shell has strong radial ribs that extend past the shell’s margin, forming a jagged edge. The inside cup is attached only at its apex. They may be brown, gray, reddish-brown or white in color. The inside cup is white. Umbrella Cup-and-Saucer Shells reach a maximum of 8.7 cm (3.4 inches) in length.

Habitat and Distribution: Umbrella Cup-and-Saucers are found attached to rocks in the intertidal zone, and at depths up to 50 m (165 feet). They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from along the west coast of the Baja Peninsula and from north of Bahía San Carlos, Sonora, in the Sea of Cortez.

Ecology and Behavior: Umbrella Cup-and-Saucers are suspension feeders that feed primarily on plankton, which they capture with mucus nets created by their gills. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning. Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated. However, they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.

Synonyms: Calyptraea rudis and Calyptraea umbrella.