Cypraeidae

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Cypraeidae
Cypraea talpa (alive).jpg
A live Talparia talpa in situ with its mantle almost fully extended, anterior end towards the right
Different cowries.jpg
Shells of a number of species of cowries
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Superfamily: Cypraeoidea
Family: Cypraeidae
Rafinesque, 1815
Type genus
Pseudomelatoma
Dall, 1918
Genera

See text

Synonyms [1]
  • Cypraeovulinae Schilder, 1927· accepted, alternate representation
  • Erroneinae Schilder, 1927· accepted, alternate representation
  • Luriinae Schilder, 1932· accepted, alternate representation
  • Pustulariinae Gill, 1871· accepted, alternate representation

Cypraeidae, commonly named the cowries (sg. cowry), is a taxonomic family of small to large sea snails. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies. [1]

Contents

Shell description

Cypraeidae have adult shells which are very rounded, almost like an egg; they do not look like a typical gastropod shell. Their glossy, polished, ovate-shaped shells have beautiful patterns in a variety of colors. These patterns, combined with minor variations in shell form, have led some conchologists to recognize 60 genera and hundreds of species and subspecies.

In virtually all of the species in the family Cypraeidae, the shells are extremely smooth and shiny. This is because in the living animal, the shell is nearly always fully covered with the mantle.

The upper surface is typically convex, while the ventral side is flattened. Typically, no spire is visible in the fully adult shell. There is a long, narrow, aperture that runs along the length of the ventral side. The aperture is lined with "teeth".

Juvenile cowry shells are not at all similar to adult cowry shells. The juvenile shells of cowries perhaps more closely resemble the shells of some "bubble snails" in the order Cephalaspidea. Also the shells of juvenile cowries seldom exhibit the same color patterns as the adult shells do, and thus can be hard to identify to species.

Cowries have no operculum.

Distribution

The Cypraeidae constitute one of the most widely distributed groups of gastropods in tropical and subtropical seas. The cowries are one of the most abundant and diversified groups of shells to be found on reefs and rocky intertidal flats and sandy substrates in the island area.

Predators and prey

The very narrow toothed aperture of the cowry shell makes the adult shells difficult for many predators to reach into. However cowries are still vulnerable to predation: [2]

The eating habits of cowries are poorly known, because most species are nocturnal and cryptic, but sponges are the most commonly described prey. Off the coasts of Australia, common cowry species eat sponges, [2] and on Caribbean coral reefs they are known to eat sponges that are otherwise chemically defended against other predators. [3]

Taxonomy

For nearly 200 years, every species in the family Cypraeidae was placed in one genus, Cypraea, but in 2002 [4] the cowries were divided into many different genera.

2005 taxonomy

The family Cypraeidae belongs, together with the family Ovulidae, to the superfamily Cypraeoidea. This, in turn, is part of the clade Littorinimorpha which belongs within the clade Hypsogastropoda according to the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005).

The following six subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) but are treated as alternate representation of Cypraeidae in the World Register of Marine Species  :

Genera

Genera within the family Cypraeidae include:

Apertural view of a shell of Nucleolaria granulata Nucleolaria granulata 001.jpg
Apertural view of a shell of Nucleolaria granulata
Neobernaya spadicea Neobernaya spadicea 001.jpg
Neobernaya spadicea
Notocypraea piperita Notocypraea piperita 001.jpg
Notocypraea piperita
Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei 002.jpg
Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei

Species

For a list of Species in the taxonomic family Cypraeidae, see Cowries.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Littorinimorpha</span> Order of gastropods

Littorinimorpha is a large order of snails, gastropods, consisting primarily of sea snails, but also including some freshwater snails and land snails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypraeoidea</span> Superfamily of gastropods

Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies, is a superfamily of sea snails, marine gastropods included in the clade Littorinimorpha. This superfamily had been called Cypraeacea and was named by Rafinesque in 1815.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ovulidae</span> Family of gastropods

Ovulidae, common names the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries, is a family of small to large predatory or parasitic sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and the cowry allies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triviidae</span> Family of gastropods

Triviidae is a taxonomic family of small sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea of the order Littorinimorpha.

<i>Pustularia</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Pustularia is a small genus of medium-sized sea snails or cowries, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Pustulariinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Naria</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Naria is a genus of sea snails, cowries, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Erosariinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pediculariinae</span> Subfamily of gastropods

Pediculariinae is a subfamily of small to large predatory or parasitic sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Ovulidae and the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and the cowry allies. As of 2009, it comprises 48 described species of which 20 are regarded as valid by most scientists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eocypraeidae</span> Family of gastropods

Eocypraeidae is a small family of large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies.

<i>Ransoniella punctata</i> Species of gastropod

Ransoniella punctata, common name the brown-spotted cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Erronea</i> Genus of gastropods

Erronea is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Luria</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Luria is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Luriinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Lyncina</i> Genus of gastropods

Lyncina is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Mauritia</i> (gastropod) Genus of gastropods

Mauritia is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. These shelled molluscs are generally exclusive on the island of Mauritius, hence their name Mauritia.

<i>Monetaria</i> Genus of gastropods

Monetaria is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Ransoniella</i> Genus of gastropods

Ransoniella is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Erroneinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. Most species in this genus have become a synonym of species in NotadustaSchilder, 1935

<i>Jenneria</i> Genus of gastropods

Jenneria is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Ovulidae, one of the families of cowry allies.

<i>Notocypraea</i> Genus of gastropods

Notocypraea is a genus of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Proadusta</i> Extinct genus of gastropods

Proadusta is an extinct genus of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Zonariinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Schilderina</i> Genus of gastropods

Schilderina is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the subfamily Zonariinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

<i>Zonarina</i> (gastropod) Extinct genus of gastropods

Zonarina is an extinct genus of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Zonariinae of the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

References

  1. 1 2 "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Cypraeidae Rafinesque, 1815".
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Barry; Clarkson, Peter (2004). Australia's Spectacular Cowries. El Cajon, CA, USA: Odyssey. ISBN   0966172027.
  3. ↑ Pawlik, JR; Deignan, Lindsey (2015). "Cowries graze verongid sponges on Caribbean reefs". Coral Reefs. 34 (2): 663. Bibcode:2015CorRe..34..663P. doi: 10.1007/s00338-015-1279-x .
  4. ↑ Lorenz F. 2002. New Worldwide Cowries. Descriptions of new taxa and revisions of selected groups of living Cypraeidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Schriften zur Malakozoologie aus dem Haus der Natur-Cismar 20: 1-292, pl. 1-40
  5. ↑ Cypraeinae Rafinesque, 1815 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Erosariinae Schilder, 1924 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Meyer C. P. (2003) "Molecular systematics of cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) and diversification patterns in the tropics". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79(3): 401–459. doi : 10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00197.x
  8. ↑ Erroneinae Schilder, 1927 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.
  9. ↑ Gisortiinae Schilder, 1927 † . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.
  10. ↑ Luriinae Schilder, 1932 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.
  11. ↑ Pustulariinae Gill, 1871 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.
  12. ↑ Umbiliinae Schilder, 1932 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.

Further reading

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