Naria erosa

Naria erosa
Naria erosa, anterior end is to the left
Five views of a shell of Naria erosa chlorizans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Cypraeidae
Subfamily:	Erosariinae
Genus:	Naria
Species:	N. erosa
Binomial name
Naria erosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms [1]
Cypraea (Luponia) erosaLinnaeus, 1758 Cypraea erosaLinnaeus, 1758 (basionym) Cypraea flaviculaLamarck, 1810 Erosaria erosa(Linnaeus, 1758)

Naria erosa, common name the gnawed or eroded cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. ^[1]

Subspecies

• Naria erosa chlorizans(Melvill, 1888)
• Naria erosa erosa(Linnaeus, 1758)

Description

The shell of these quite common cowries reaches on average 32–38 millimetres (1.3–1.5 in) in length, with a maximum size of 75 millimetres (3.0 in) and a minimum adult size of 15 millimetres (0.59 in). The dorsum is yellow-ocher or pale brown, with many small white spots. The extremities of the shell show dark brown spots. A dark brown area which is roughly rectangular is present on each side close to the edge. The base is white to light beige, with thin transverse stripes.

At night in the living cowries, the extremely papillose brownish mantle usually covers the shell completely, camouflaging the animal.

Naria erosa, dorsal view

Naria erosa chlorizans, anterior end towards the right - Australia

Naria erosa chlorizans side view, anterior end towards the right

Distribution

Distribution map of Naria erosa

This species and its subspecies occur in the Indian Ocean along the coasts of Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, the East Coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania, as well in the Western Pacific Ocean (Malaysia, Australia, Philippines, Polynesia and Hawaii).

Habitat

These cowries live in warm tropical waters, on shallow intertidal reefs or in lagoons at about 2–10 metres (6 ft 7 in – 32 ft 10 in) of depth. Like most other cowries, during the day they usually hide under rocks slabs with the mantle drawn into the shell. They feed only at dawn or dusk.

References

1. Naria erosa . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 6 January 2019.

• Lorenz, F. (2017). Cowries. A guide to the gastropod family Cypraeidae. Volume 1, Biology and systematics. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 644 pp.

External links

• Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata (10th revised edition), vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae
• Lamarck (J.-B. M. de). (1810). Sur la détermination des espèces parmi les animaux sans vertèbres, et particulièrement parmi les Mollusques testacés. Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 15: 20-40
• Ladd, H.S. (1977). Cenozoic fossil mollusks from western Pacific islands; Gastropods (Eratoidae through Harpidae). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 533: i–iv, 1–84, pls 1–23 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
• Biolib
• Naria erosa chlorizans
• Naria erosa
• Cypraea erosa
• Erosaria erosa
• Malacos
• Photos of Naria erosa on Sealife Collection