- Cypraea pantherina
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Cypraea pantherina 
A shell of Cypraea pantherina, anterior end towards the bottom Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda (unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade LittorinimorphaSuperfamily: Cypraeoidea Family: Cypraeidae Genus: Cypraea Species: C. pantherina Binomial name Cypraea pantherina
Lightfoot, 1786Cypraea pantherina, commonly known as the Panther Cowry, is a species of large tropical sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
The Panther Cowry is one of the two species included within the genus Cypraea (the second species is Cypraea tigris, Linnaeus, 1758), as all other species previously belonging to the genus Cypraea have been reassigned to other genera within the family Cypraeidae.
Shells of Cypraea pantherina have been found tombs in the Rhine valley dated to 6 BCE. [1] Furthermore shells of this species and the related Cypraea tigris have been unearthed at Pompeii, the ancient Roman city near Naples, Italy, where these shells may have been used as some form of ornament.
Contents
Description
This quite common species looks very similar to Cypraea tigris, but its shell is more slender and lighter. The shells of Cypraea pantherina reach on average 57–65 millimetres (2.2–2.6 in) of length, with a minimum size of 37 millimetres (1.5 in) and a maximum size of 118 millimetres (4.6 in). The shape of these shells is roughly elongate-pyriform and they quite large and heavy. The dorsum surface is smooth and shiny, usually whitish or pale brown, densely covered with dark brown circular spots. A blurred longitudinal reddish line runs along the midline.
However the basic colors are very variable, as they range from melanic or chestnut red to albino. The lower margins are rounded and the ventral side is white or whitish, with several long and fine teeth along the aperture.
In the living cowries the mantle is thin and quite trasparent, with many longitidinal slight lines and numerous long and white sensorial papillae. The lateral extensions of the mantle may cover the shell completely, meeting at the midline of the dorsum. The mantle can also be withdrawn into the shell opening when the cowry is threatened.
A shell of Cypraea pantherina from Sudan, lateral view, anterior end towards the right
Dorsal view of shells of Cypraea pantherina from Sudan, anterior end towards the rightDistribution
The panther cowry is endemic to the Red Sea (along Egypt and Sudan), Gulf of Aqaba, Dahlak Islands and Gulf of Aden, without overlapping with Cypraea tigris. This non-native species is also established in the Mediterranean Sea (Lampedusa Island and Malta) as a new comer, probably entered through the Suez Canal. [2]
Habitat
Cypraea pantherina lives in clear water at 3–40 metres (9.8–130 ft) of depth, mainly on coral colonies or sandy sea floor, feeding on coral polyps, various invertebrates and algae, but also on dead organic matters.
Subspecies and formae
- Cypraea pantherina pantherina Lightfoot, 1786 [3]
- Cypraea pantherina rasnasraniensis Heiman & Mienis, 2001 [8]
References
- ^ Plouin, S.. ((2004)). Relation précoce avec le Picenum: une cyprée (Cypraea pantherina) de l’Océan indien dans une tombe aristocratique hallstattienne d’Alsace (Nordhouse, Bas-Rhin, France). Preistoria Alpina. ,v. 40 (Suppl. 1), pp. 101-106. ISSN 0393-0157
- ^ Gofas S & Zenetos A . (2003). Exotic Molluscs in the Mediterranean Basin: Current status and perspectives. In: Gibson R N & Atkinson R J A Oceanography and Marine Biology; An Annual Review Volume 41. London : Taylor & Francis. p.240 ISBN 0-203-23081-7 (PDF format) ISBN 0-415-25463-9 (print edition)
- ^ Gastropods.com : Cypraea pantherina pantherina; accessed : 21 October 2010
- ^ Gastropods.com : Cypraea pantherina pantherina albonitens; accessed : 21 October 2010
- ^ Gastropods.com : Cypraea pantherina pantherina catulus; accessed : 21 October 2010
- ^ Gastropods.com : Cypraea pantherina pantherina funebralis; accessed : 21 October 2010
- ^ : Cypraea pantherina pantherina nigrovinosa; accessed : 21 October 2010
- ^ Gastropods.com : Cypraea pantherina rasnasraniensis; accessed : 21 October 2010
- Lorenz F. & Hubert A. - A guide to worldwide cowries. Edition 2. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 584 pp
External links
Categories:- Cypraeidae
- Animals described in 1786
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