- Talparia talpa
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Talparia talpa 
A live Talparia talpa in situ with its mantle almost fully extended, anterior end towards the right. Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda (unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade LittorinimorphaSuperfamily: Cypraeoidea Family: Cypraeidae Subfamily: Luriinae Genus: Talparia Species: T. talpa Binomial name Talparia talpa
(Linnaeus)Synonyms[1] Cypraea talpa Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
Talparia talpa, common name the Mole Cowry or Chocolate Banded Cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[1]
Distribution map of Talparia talpa
Contents
Subspecies
- Talparia talpa imperialis Schilder, F.A. & M. Schilder, 1938 [2]
- Talparia talpa saturata (Dautzenberg, Ph., 1903) [3]
Description
The shells of these quite uncommon cowries reach on average 50–70 millimetres (2.0–2.8 in) of length, with a minimum size of 23 millimetres (0.91 in) and a maximum size of 105 millimetres (4.1 in). They are very variable in pattern and colour. The dorsum surface is smooth and shiny, the basic color is brown or yellowish brown, with three or four yellow or light brown transversal bands. The margins, the base and the teeth are completely dark brown or black. Also the teeth are dark brown, but the teeth spacing is clearer or white. In the living cowries mantle is greyish or black, with long cylindrical papillae. Mantle and foot are well developed, with external antennae. The lateral flaps of the mantle may hide completely the shell surface and may be quickly retracted into the shell.
Two shells of Talparia talpa, dorsal and apertural view
A shell of Talparia talpa, anterior end towards the bottomDistribution
This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along East Africa (Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania), in the western Pacific (western Australia, Philippines), in Polynesia and Hawaii.
Habitat
These cowries live on coral reef or on a shallow lagoon in tropical intertidal and subtidal water up to 30 metres. They can be found in ledges and small coral caves at night, as they start feeding at dusk.
References
- ^ a b Talparia talpa (Linnaeus). WoRMS (2009). Talparia talpa (Linnaeus). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216894 on 23 October 2010.
- ^ Gastropods.com : Talparia talpa imperialis; accessed : 23 october 2010
- ^ Gastropods.com : Talparia talpa saturata; 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
- Biolib
- Gastropods.com : Talpa talpa : photos; accessed : 23 October 2010
- Talparia talpa
Categories:- Cypraeidae
- Animals described in 1758
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