Bernaya teulerei

Bernaya teulerei
Bernaya teulerei
A shell of Bernaya teulerei, dorsal view, anterior end towards the right
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Cypraeoidea
Family: Cypraeidae
Genus: Bernaya
Species: B. teulerei
Binomial name
Bernaya teulerei
(Cazenavette, 1846)
Synonyms
  • Barycypraea teulerei (Cazanavette, B., 1846) [1]
  • Cypraea leucostoma Gaskoin, J.S., 1843
  • Cypraea teuleri Cazenavette, 1846
  • Cypraea hidalgoi Shaw, H.O.N., 1909)

Bernaya teulerei, common name Teulere's cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[2]

Bernaya teulerei and Bernaya fultoni are the only two species of the genus Bernaya, belonging to the 'archaic' subfamily Bernaynae. They are considered relics or "living fossils", with numerous rather similar species occurring as Oligocene fossils.

Contents

Description

The shells of this uncommon species of cowries (at one time it was considered very rare) reach on average 40–48 millimetres (1.6–1.9 in) in length, with a minimum size of 33 millimetres (1.3 in) and a maximum size of 67 millimetres (2.6 in). They are highly variable in pattern. The dorsum surface is not particularly smooth and shiny as is commonly the case in cowries. The basic color is light beige or cream, with irregular dark brown patches on the top and many light brown spots on the sides. The calloused margins are whitish, while the base is white, with a large sinuous aperture with only traces of labial teeth. Bernaya teulerei is externally similar to Bernaya fultoni and Muracypraea mus.

A shell of Bernaya teulerei, lateral view, anterior end towards the right
A shell of Bernaya teulerei, lateral view, anterior end towards the right
A shell of Bernaya teulerei, ventral view, anterior end towards the left
Bernaya teulerei from Gulf of Oman
Shells of Bernaya fultoni (left) and Bernaya teulerei (right)

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea, in the Gulf of Oman, in the Hormuz Strait) and in the Indian Ocean, along Eritrea and Somalia.

Habitat

These cowries live in intertidal shallow waters, mainly on coral reef but also on sandy and muddy sea bed.

References

  1. ^ Gastropods.com : Barycypraea teulerei; accessed : 23 October 2010
  2. ^ Bernaya teulerei Caz.. WoRMS (2009). Bernaya teulerei Caz.. Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216737 on 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


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