R. punctostriatus is widely distributed on both sides

of Florida. However, I have not found it in the Florida

Keys. In my experience its habitat is among soft

bottoms, often very muddy, with at least some grass

(although I did once collect it live in a mucky area devoid

of grasses where I sunk up to my knees). When found

dead, R. punctostriatus is a translucent white and has

delicate spiral lines around the body whorl and just

above the teleoconch sutures. While very noticeable in

dead-collected shells, these spirals are barely visible in

live-collected shells as the adjacent photos illustrate. As

Redfern describes, these spirals include “small square

or rectangular pits.”

 

                                                                                                             This specimen is from Jupiter Sound, Palm Beach                                                                                                                      County, Florida. 3.5 mm Photos by Marlo Krisberg