Gintakahama (Silver Beach) - Tectus pyramis

Japanese: ギンタカハマ(銀高浜) - ギンタカハマ（英語表記）Tectus pyramis

A large snail shell of the family Celastridae. Some shells reach a height of 8.5 cm and a width of 8.3 cm, but they do not grow this large off the coast of Japan. It is a regular cone, but young shells have a short tubular projection around the lower end, which gradually disappears as they grow. It is thick and firm. It has 12 layers, each of which is slightly flattened. The shell surface has light and dark green-brown spots. The underside is flat and silvery white. The lid is circular, thin, and yellowish brown. It is widely distributed from the Boso Peninsula south to the tropical Pacific Ocean, and lives on rocky reefs near the intertidal zone. The meat is edible, and the shell is used for shell crafts, but it was formerly called Hirosegai (Hirose shell), and along with Sarasabateira (Takase shell), the shells were cut into circles to make buttons.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ニシキウズガイ科の大型巻貝。殻の高さ8.5cm，太さ8.3cmに達するものもあるが，日本沿岸ではこのように大型にならない。正円錐形であるが，幼貝では下端のまわりに短い管状突起があり，成長するとしだいに消失する。厚質堅固。巻きは12階あり，各階の膨らみは弱く平ら。殻表に緑褐色の濃淡の斑がある。下面は平らで銀白色。ふたは円形で薄く，黄褐色。房総半島以南～熱帯太平洋に広く分布し，潮間帯付近の岩礁にすむ。肉は食用とし，殻は貝細工に使うが，以前はヒロセガイ(広瀬貝)といい，サラサバテイラ(タカセガイ(高瀬貝))とともに殻を丸く切り取ってボタンを製造した。

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