Nucleolaria granulata

Nucleolaria granulata
Nucleolaria granulata
A shell of Nucleolaria granulata, anterior end towards the right
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Cypraeoidea
Family: Cypraeidae
Subfamily: Erosariinae
Genus: Nucleolaria
Species: N. granulata
Binomial name
Nucleolaria granulata
W.H. Pease, 1862
Synonyms
  • Nucleolaria granulata cassiaui Burgess 1965
  • Nucleolaria granulata granulata Pease 1862
  • Cypraea madagascariensis Sowerby, G.B. I, 1832
  • Cypraea honoluluensis Melvill, J.C., 1888

Nucleolaria granulata, common name the "granulated cowry", is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

Contents

Description

The shell of this quite uncommon cowry reaches on average 22–28 millimetres (0.87–1.1 in) of length, with a maximum size of 49 millimetres (1.9 in) and a minimum size of 15 millimetres (0.59 in). The shape of the shells is wide oval and appears flattened. The dorsum surface is rough, with a deep longitudinal line in the middle and many protuberances of various sizes, each other connected by thin ribs. The aperture is narrow and the outer and inner lips have fine teeth. The base is wide and the teeth are extended to cross the entire base as ribs on both sides. In the living cowries the mantle is pinkish or reddish, with well-developed papillae, which serve to camouflage these mollusks against the seabed.

Nucleolaria granulata, side view, anterior end towards the right
Nucleolaria granulata, apertural view of the shell

Distribution

This species is endemic to the Hawaii and Marquesas Islands.

Habitat

Nucleolaria granulata lives in tropical shallow waters under rocks and caves usually at 5–25 metres (16–82 ft) of depth, feeding at night on sponges, algae or coral polyps.

References

  • Felix Lorenz and Alex Hubert : A Guide to Worldwide Cowries, second revised edition, Conch Books, 2002

External Links

This Cypraeidae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.