''Bistolida owenii'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a cowry, a marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cypraeidae, the cowries.

Subspecies

*''Bistolida owenii owenii'' ( Sowerby, 1837) (synonym : ''Bistolida menkeana'' Deshayes, G.P., 1863 ) ** forma : ''Bistolida owenii owenii modesta'' (f) ( Sowerby, 1870) *''Bistolida owenii piae'' Lorenz, F. Jr. & M. Chiapponi, 2005 *''Bistolida owenii vasta'' (Schilder, F.A. & M. Schilder, 1938) Gastropods.com = ''Bistolida owenii vasta''
accessed : 29 October 2010 (synonym : ''Cypraea pulchella'' Gray, J.E., 1828)

Description

Distribution

This species is found in the seas around the

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, the Mascarene Basin,

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

;

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

, the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

References

* 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. * Burgess, C.M. (1970). ''The Living Cowries''. AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey * Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) ''Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Beached Shells''. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 66 * Lorenz F. & Chiapponi M. (2005) ''Revision of the Bistolida owenii-complex (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) with the description of a new subspecies''. Visaya 1(5): 22–36. Cypraeidae Gastropods described in 1837 {{Cypraeidae-stub