Summary
Staphylaea staphylaea (common name: the stippled cowry) is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[1]
| Staphylaea staphylaea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Staphylaea staphylaea shell | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Genus: | Staphylaea |
| Species: | S. staphylaea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Staphylaea staphylaea | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
| |
There is one subspecies : Staphylaea staphylaea laevigata Dautz., 1932.[3]
Description edit
The shell of Staphylaea staphylaea reaches a size of 7 – 29 mm. It is oval, the dorsum surface is pale greyish with a thin longitudinal line in the middle, many small round protuberances and two brown areas at the extremities. The base is pale brown. The small teeth are extended to both sides of the entire base. In the living cowries the transparent mantle has an orange coloration, with long finger-like projections.
Distribution edit
This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, the East Coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia, South Mozambique, Tanzania and in Polynesia and Australia.
References edit
- ^ a b Staphylaea staphylaea (Linnaeus). WoRMS (2009). Staphylaea staphylaea (Linnaeus). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216890 on 23 October 2010 .
- ^ "Staphylaea staphylaea staphylaea". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
- ^ Gastropods.com : Staphylaea staphylaea laevigata , accessed : 23 October 2010
- Verdcourt, B. (1954). The cowries of the East African Coast (Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Pemba). Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society 22(4) 96: 129–144, 17 pls.
External links edit
- Felix Lorenz and Alex Hubert : A Guide to Worldwide Cowries, second revised edition, Conch Books, 2002 ISBN 3-925919-25-2
- Nudipixel