Staphylaea staphylaea

Staphylaea staphylaea (common name: the stippled cowry) is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[1]

Staphylaea staphylaea
Staphylaea staphylaea shell
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:
Cypraeoidea
Family:
Cypraeidae
Genus:
Staphylaea
Species:
S. staphylaea
Binomial name
Staphylaea staphylaea
Synonyms[1][2]
  • Cypraea staphylaea Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
  • Cypraea atrata Gray, J.E., 1825
  • Cypraea deprava Dautzenberg, Ph., 1903
  • Pustularia depravata Dautzenberg, Ph., 1903
  • Cypraea albicilla Sulliotti, G.R., 1924
  • Cypraea expallescens Dautzenberg, Ph. & J.L. Bouge, 1933
  • Staphylaea fortis Coen, G.S., 1949
  • Staphylaea grisea Coen, G.S., 1949
  • Staphylaea lactea Coen, G.S., 1949
  • Staphylaea nitida Coen, G.S., 1949

There is one subspecies : Staphylaea staphylaea laevigata Dautz., 1932.[3]

Description
Shells of Staphylaea staphylaea from Reunion Island at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano. Dorsal and ventral view

The shell of Staphylaea staphylaea reaches a size of 7 – 29 mm. It is oval, the dorsum surface is pale greyish with a thin longitudinal line in the middle, many small round protuberances and two brown areas at the extremities. The base is pale brown. The small teeth are extended to both sides of the entire base. In the living cowries the transparent mantle has an orange coloration, with long finger-like projections.

Distribution
Distribution map of Staphylaea staphylaea

This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, the East Coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia, South Mozambique, Tanzania and in Polynesia and Australia.

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References
  1. Staphylaea staphylaea (Linnaeus). WoRMS (2009). Staphylaea staphylaea (Linnaeus). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216890 on 23 October 2010 .
  2. "Staphylaea staphylaea staphylaea". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  3. Gastropods.com : Staphylaea staphylaea laevigata , accessed : 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.
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