The West Indian top shell or magpie shell is a species of large edible sea snail from the Tegulidae family. It has a large black and white shell that although rough in the wild polishes up into a beautiful shell.
This species occurs along the Caribbean coast from Mexico to Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela. It also occurs in the Bahamas, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and as far south as Trinidad and Tobago.
These large sea snails are boiled and eaten in a variety of different local recipes and collection for food is heavily regulated. No collecting is allowed during their reproductive season and there is now a minimum harvest size regulation. All our shells are collected as a by-product from the food industry.
Price is for one polished shell with an average size of 6 to 7.5cm.
