Canarium erythrinum is sporadically common in the Marshalls, usually being limited to specific habitats. Nearly all specimens are found hiding among algae stalks in lagoon Halimeda beds. We know about three algae beds where they are common, but they are almost absent elsewhere, and are never found on the seaward reef. Several broken shells and dead specimens were found cemented into carrier shells of the genus Xenophora found in a Halimeda bed on the lagoon bottom of Enewetak Atoll at a depth of about 60m in 1982, so perhaps they are also common in some deeper water lagoon bottom Halimeda patches. The shell comes in a variety of colors. The photos below show a few of the color forms.
Some color variations of empty shells.
Created 1 October 2009
Created 1 June 2020