Nucleolaria granulata
| Nucleolaria granulata | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A shell of Nucleolaria granulata, anterior end towards the right | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Cypraeoidea |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Subfamily: | Erosariinae |
| Genus: | Nucleolaria |
| Species: | N. granulata |
| Binomial name | |
| Nucleolaria granulata W.H. Pease, 1862 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Nucleolaria granulata, common name the granulated cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
Description
The shell of this quite uncommon cowry reaches on average 22–28 millimetres (0.87–1.10 in) of length, with a maximum size of 49 millimetres (1.9 in) and a minimum size of 15 millimetres (0.59 in). The shape of the shells is wide oval and appears flattened. The dorsum surface is rough, with a deep longitudinal line in the middle and many protuberances of various sizes, each other connected by thin ribs. The aperture is narrow and the outer and inner lips have fine teeth. The base is wide and the teeth are extended to cross the entire base as ribs on both sides. In the living cowries the mantle is pinkish or reddish, with well-developed papillae, which serve to camouflage these mollusks against the seabed.
 Nucleolaria granulata, side view, anterior end towards the right |
 Nucleolaria granulata, apertural view of the shell |
Distribution
This species is endemic to the Hawaii and Marquesas Islands.
Habitat
Nucleolaria granulata lives in tropical shallow waters under rocks and caves usually at 5–25 metres (16–82 ft) of depth, feeding at night on sponges, algae or coral polyps.
References
- Felix Lorenz and Alex Hubert : A Guide to Worldwide Cowries, second revised edition, Conch Books, 2002