''Leporicypraea mappa'' (previously known as ''Cypraea mappa''),

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

the map cowry, 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 ...

of large

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 Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 ...

mollusk 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 e ...

in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. This is considered an

economically Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

important species in the Indo-West Pacific, where it is usually collected both for food and for shell trading.Poutiers, J. M. (1998).[ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/w7191e/w7191e42.pdfGastropods in: ''FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes: The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 1.'' Seaweeds, corals, bivalves and gastropods]. Rome, FAO, 1998. page 492. The map cowry was named on the basis of its distinct color pattern, because of the longitudinal lines and the easily distinguishable and sinuous

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

groove, which creates a resemblance to

ancient maps The history of cartography refers to the development and consequences of cartography, or mapmaking technology, throughout human history. Maps have been one of the most important human inventions for millennia, allowing humans to explain and navig ...

Taxonomy

''Leporicypraea mappa'' was previously subordinated into the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Cypraea ''Cypraea'' is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails or cowries, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. Species Species within the genus ''Cypraea'' include: * † '' Cypraea ficoides'' (Hutton, 1873) * '' Cypr ...

''. In the currently most accepted

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of the Cypraeidae by Lorenz & Hubert (2000), this species is considered to be within the genus '' Leporicypraea'', with several subspecies. Recently, the division of this

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

in two or even three nominal

based on morphological and

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

characters has been suggested.

Subspecies

Subspecies of ''Leporicypraea mappa'' include according to the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

(WoRMS):WoRMS : Leporicypraea mappa
accessed 19 October 2010] *''Leporicypraea mappa admirabilis'' Lorenz, 2002 *''Leporicypraea mappa aliwalensis'' Lorenz, 2002 *''Leporicypraea mappa mappa'' ( Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus,

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

) The Indo-Pacific Molluscan also includes:ONIS Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database
retrieved 13 September 2010 *''Leporicypraea mappa rosea'' (

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

, 1824) *''Leporicypraea mappa panerythra'' (

Melvill Melville is a surname and a given name. The surname has two different origins: Scottish and Irish. In Scotland, the name is a habitational name, originally of Norman origin, derived from any of several places called Malleville in Normandy. The p ...

, 1888) *''Leporicypraea mappa viridis'' (Kenyon, 1902) *''Leporicypraea mappa geographica'' (Schilder & Schilder, 1933)

Shell description

The maximum shell length of this species is up to 10 cm, but it more commonly grows up to about 8 cm. The shell of ''Leporicypraea mappa'' is globose, with a near

elliptical Elliptical may mean: * having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape ** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape ** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform * characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...

, slightly elongate outline. In affinity to other Cypraeidae, the

aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

of the shell is very narrow, and relatively long. Both the inner and outer lips are ornamented with arrays of small teeth, though the teeth of the outer lip are shorter and stronger in comparison to the teeth of the inner lip, which are thinner and more numerous. Its dorsal side is normally inflated, while the ventral side of the shell is slightly concave. The shell is colored white or cream, with several longitudinal brown lines, which are sometimes interrupted by circular empty spaces. The cursory dorsal

groove line is dissimilar to the shells general color pattern, completely devoid of lines, thus easily perceivable. Its sinuous appearance, with several branches and notches, makes it a diagnostic character for this species. This exotic color pattern gives an appearance similar to that of

, hence the specific and common names. Both the ventral side of the shell and the labral teeth may vary greatly in color, assuming shades of white or cream, or even purple, brown, orange or pink.Chicago Natural History Museum Bulletin
Vol. 28, no. 4, April 1957. Page 3.

Distribution

''Leporicypraea mappa'' is widely distributed in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

. It is present in many regions, including

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

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 ...

, southeastern

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

, eastern

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, southern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. This exceptionally wide range may possibly be an artifact. Some conchologists claim that the taxonomy of the species is poorly resolved; if the map cowry is discovered to be cryptic species complex, then this could drastically change the range of its distribution.

Ecology

Habitat

The map cowry lives in the intertidal and sublittoral zones, usually in

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

areas, dwelling under slabs and stones at depths of 45 m.

Human uses

The flesh of the map cowry is edible, and it is commonly collected by local fishermen for food and shell trading wherever it occurs. It is sold in fish markets in the northern

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The shells of ''Cypraea mappa'' (as it was previously known) were considered rare, exotic and beautiful, and were highly prized by private shell collectors in the late 1950s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leporicypraea Mappa Cypraeidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus