Referred material: 1, RNC 4670, 54.7 mm. E of Semidi Islands (56°05.55 N, 156°17.03 W), 215 m (NMFS 143-200301-177).
Description: Shell of moderate size (to 133 mm), pyriform, whorls rounded except for slight subsutral concavity, suture moderately impressed; white to brown, with very thin or absent periostracum. Protoconch large, 3.9-5.4 mm in diameter, bulbus, projecting, with 2 whorls; teleconch with four whorls, early whorls with 9-11 fine spiral cords, adult whorls with 11-20 rounded, even spiral cords above suture, interspaces narrower; cords weaker and more crowded on base; columella somewhat concave. Mature lip slightly thickened, hardly flaring; canal moderately short, twisted; pillar with poorly developed siphonal facsiole; mature lip slightly thickened and flaring. Radula: Rachidian tooth broad, quadrate, strongly indented anteriorly, bearing two or three sub-equal cusps (central cusp when present, slightly longer than outer ones). Lateral teeth large, tri-cuspid, outer cusp relatively thick, strongly curved, much larger than others; central cusp very short, slightly bent; inner cusp about twice as large as central one, rather thick, curved. Remarks: Neptunea baxteri is similar to Neptunea dominator n. sp. but differs by 1) it's shorter, broader profile, and 2) more numerous primary spiral cords. Neptunea baxteri lays stacked egg capsules, similar to those of Neptunea lyrata (Gmelin, 1791) and Neptunea ventricosa (Gmelin, 1791). Egg capsules triangular in shape, 20 x 18 mm, stacked in alternating three capsule layers giving a hexagonal cross-section to egg towers immerging hatchlings 5-6 mm in length. Etymology: The name honors the late Rae Baxter of Seldovia Alaska, a former Alaska Department of Fish and game biologist who spent many years studying the mollusks of Alaska, and who collected some of the first specimens. Distribution: Semidi Islands, western Gulf of Alaska (156°17 W) (RNC 4616) to Adak Island, central Aleutians (176°45 W) (LACM 3638), at depths of 84-296 m. Habitat: Found on black sand, gravel and pebble bottoms (sometimes mixed with cobbles) with bottom temperatures of 3.6-5.5°C, but most commonly at temperatures of 4.1-4.5°C.