Monetaria caputserpentis
| Monetaria caputserpentis | |
|---|---|
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| A live individual of Monetaria caputserpentis, anterior end towards the right | |
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| A shell of Monetaria caputserpentis | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Caenogastropoda |
| Order: | Littorinimorpha |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Genus: | Monetaria |
| Species: | M. caputserpentis
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| Binomial name | |
| Monetaria caputserpentis | |
| Synonyms | |
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Monetaria caputserpentis, common name the serpent's-head cowry or snakehead cowry, is a species of cowry, a sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[1]
Distribution
[edit]
This species occurs in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, tropical Indo-West Pacific, Australia and the Philippines. This sea snail lives on corals, rock reefs and rocky shores from the intertidal zone down to depths of 200 m.
Description
[edit]The basic color of the shell is reddish-brown, with many whitish dots on the top of the dorsum, which sometimes shows a clear longitudinal line. The underside is light beige.
Frequently these shells are sold with a purple top, which is achieved by dipping the dorsum in acid.
Synonyms
[edit]In literature and on various websites the synonym Cypraea caputserpentis is still commonly used.
There are two subspecies :
- Monetaria caputserpentis caputserpentis Linnaeus (synonym : Cypraea caputserpentis caputserpentis Linnaeus, 1758)
- Monetaria caputserpentis caputophidii (Schilder, 1927)
References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Cantera J. R. (1991). "First record of the Indo-Pacific gastropod Cypraea caputserpentis (Linnaeus, 1758) at Isla Gorgona, Colombia". Veliger 34: 85–87.
- Meyer C. 2003. Molecular systematics of cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) and diversification patterns in the tropics. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 79: 401–459. page(s): 411
External links
[edit]
- 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. - On-line articles with Cypraea caputserpentis in the HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS (1960-1994)
- OBIS Indo-Pacific Molluscan database
- Photos of Monetaria caputserpentis on Sealife Collection
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