MITRE SHELL

any of several marine snails constituting the family Mitridae (subclass Prosobranchia of the class Gastropoda), in which the thick shell typically is bullet shaped, vaguely resembling a bishop's headdress, or mitre. Mitres are most common in the Indo-Pacific region, where one of the largest species occurs: the 10-centimetre (4-inch) episcopal mitre (Mitra mitra), which has an orange-checked shell.