Cypraeidae, commonly named the cowries (

cowry Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...

or cowrie), is a taxonomic

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of small to large

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

s. These are marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s in the superfamily

Cypraeoidea Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies, is a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropods included in the clade Littorinimorpha. This superfamily had been called Cypraeacea and was named by Rafinesque in 1815.M ...

, the cowries and cowry allies.

Shell description

Cypraeidae have adult shells which are very rounded, almost like an egg; they do not look like a typical

gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium ...

. Their glossy, polished, ovate-shaped shells have beautiful patterns in a variety of colors. These patterns, combined with minor variations in shell form, have led some conchologists to recognize 60 genera and hundreds of species and subspecies. In virtually all of the species in the family Cypraeidae, the shells are extremely smooth and shiny. This is because in the living animal, the shell is nearly always fully covered with the mantle. The upper surface is typically convex, while the ventral side is flattened. Typically, no

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

is visible in the fully adult shell. There is a long, narrow,

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

that runs along the length of the ventral side. The aperture is lined with "teeth". Juvenile cowry shells are not at all similar to adult cowry shells. The juvenile shells of cowries perhaps more closely resemble the shells of some "bubble snails" in the order

Cephalaspidea The order Cephalaspidea, also known as the headshield slugs and bubble snails, is a major taxon of sea slugs and bubble snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks within the larger clade Euopisthobranchia. Bubble shells is another commo ...

. Also the shells of juvenile cowries seldom exhibit the same color patterns as the adult shells do, and thus can be hard to identify to species. Cowries have no operculum. Cypraea_Tigris

Distribution

The Cypraeidae constitute one of the most widely distributed groups of gastropods in tropical and subtropical seas. The cowries are one of the most abundant and diversified groups of shells to be found on reefs and rocky intertidal flats and sandy substrates in the island area.

Predators and prey

The very narrow toothed aperture of the cowry shell makes the adult shells difficult for many predators to reach into. However cowries are still vulnerable to predation: * Some tropical

crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...

can break the dorsum of a cowry shell. * Some mollusc-eating cones, such as ''

Conus textile ''Conus textile'', the textile cone or the cloth of gold cone is a venomous species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails, cone shells or cones. Textile cone snails live mostly in the Indian Ocean, along ...

'', can inject

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

into the cowry's flesh. The cone then extends its stomach into the shell, through the aperture, to completely ingest the flesh. * Some

octopus An octopus (: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like oth ...

es can gouge a small hole (using a special barb/tooth and an acidic secretion) through the shell to inject a venom that kills the animal within. The eating habits of cowries are poorly known, because most species are nocturnal and cryptic, but

sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

s are the most commonly described prey. Off the coasts of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, common cowry species eat sponges, and on

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

coral reefs they are known to eat sponges that are otherwise chemically defended against other predators.

Taxonomy

For nearly 200 years, every species in the family Cypraeidae was placed in one

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, ''Cypraea'', but in 2002 the cowries were divided into many different genera.

2005 taxonomy

The family Cypraeidae belongs, together with the family

Ovulidae Ovulidae, common names the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries, is a family (biology), family of small to large predatory or parasitic sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and the co ...

, to the superfamily

. This, in turn, is part of the

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Littorinimorpha which belongs within the clade Hypsogastropoda according to the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005). The following six

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zool ...

have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) but are treated as alternate representation of Cypraeidae in 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 catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

: * Cypraeinae Rafinesque, 1815 ** tribe Cypraeini Rafinesque, 1815 - synonym: Porcellanidae Roberts, 1870 (inv.) ** tribe Mauritiini Steadman & Cotton, 1946 * Erosariinae Schilder, 1924 - synonyms: Cypraeacitinae Schilder, 1930 (inv.); Nariinae Schilder, 1932; Staphylaeinae Iredale, 1935 * Erroneinae Schilder, 1927 ** tribe Erroneini Schilder, 1927 - synonym: Adustinae Steadman & Cotton, 1946 ** tribe Bistolidini C. Meyer, 2003 * Gisortiinae Schilder, 1927 - synonyms: Archicypraeinae Schilder, 1930; Bernayinae Schilder, 1927; Cpraeorbini Schilder, 1927; Mandolininae Schilder, 1932; Umbiliini Schilder 1932; Zoilinae Iredale, 1935 * Luriinae Schilder, 1932 ** tribe Luriini Schilder, 1932 - synonym: Talpariinae Iredale, 1935 ** tribe Austrocypraeini Iredale, 1935 * Pustulariinae

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

, 1871 ** tribe Pustulariini

, 1871 ** tribe Cypraeovulini Schilder, 1927 *Zonariinae F. A. Schilder, 1932 ** Tribe Pseudozonariini Lopez Soriano, 2006 ** tribe Zonariini Schilder, 1932 Lyncina_lynx_S2-22_46mm

Genera

Genera within the family Cypraeidae include: * Subfamily Cypraeinae

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

, 1815 ** '' Cypraea''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

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'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

** † '' Cypraeorbis''

Timothy Abbott Conrad Timothy Abbott Conrad (June 21, 1803 in Trenton, New Jersey – August 9, 1877 in Trenton) was an American geologist and malacologist. Biography He was from early life an investigator of American paleontology and natural history, devoting ...

, 1865 ** '' Muracypraea'' Woodring, 1957 ** † '' Siphocypraea'' Heilprin, 1887 Nucleolaria granulata 001

* Subfamily Erosariinae Schilder, 1924 ** '' Cryptocypraea'' Meyer, 2003Meyer C. P. (2003) "Molecular systematics of cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) and diversification patterns in the tropics". ''

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a direct descendant of the oldest biological journal in the world, the '' Transactions of the Linnean Society''. It succeeded the earlier title in 1969. The journal specializes in evolution, an ...

'' 79(3): 401–459. ** '' Ipsa'' Jousseaume, 1884 ** '' Monetaria'' Troschel, 1863 ** '' Naria''

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, 1837 ** '' Nesiocypraea'' Azuma & Kurohara, 1967 ** '' Nucleolaria'' Oyama, 1959 ** † '' Palaeocypraea'' Schilder, 1928 ** '' Perisserosa'' Iredale, 1930 ** † '' Praerosaria'' Dolin & Lozouet, 2004 ** '' Propustularia'' Schilder, 1927 ** '' Staphylaea'' Jousseaume, 1884 ** † '' Subepona'' Dolin & Lozouet, 2004 * Subfamily Erroneinae Schilder, 1927 ** '' Bistolida'' Cossmann, 1920 ** '' Erronea'' Troschel, 1863 Erronea sp

* Subfamily † Gisortiinae Schilder, 1927 ** † '' Afrocypraea'' Schilder, 1932 ** † '' Archicypraea'' Schilder, 1926 ** † '' Bernaya'' Jousseaume, 1884 ** † '' Garviea'' Dolin & Dockery, 2018 ** † '' Gisortia'' Jousseaume, 1884 ** † '' Mandolina'' Jousseaume, 1884 ** † '' Protocypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** † '' Semicypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** † '' Vicetia'' Fabiani 1905 * Subfamily Luriinae Schilder, 1932 * Tribe Austrocypraeini Iredale, 1935 ** '' Annepona'' Iredale, 1935 ** '' Arestorides'' Iredale 1930 ** '' Austrocypraea'' Cossmann, 1903 ** '' Callistocypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** '' Chelycypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** '' Lyncina'' Troschel, 1863 ** '' Raybaudia'' Lorenz, 2017 ** ''

Trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) is a non- marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced ...

'' Jousseaume, 1884 * Tribe Luriini Schilder, 1932 ** † '' Fossacypraea'' Schilder, 1939 ** † '' Jousseaumia'' Sacco, 1894 ** '' Luria'' Jousseaume, 1884 ** '' Talparia'' Troschel, 1863 * Subfamily Pustulariinae

, 1871 ** '' Cypraeovula''

, 1824 ** '' Pustularia'' Swainson, 1840 Neobernaya spadicea 001

* Subfamily Umbiliinae Schilder, 1932 ** † '' Gigantocypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** '' Umbilia'' Jousseaume, 1884 Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei 002

* Subfamily Zonariinae F. A. Schilder, 1932 ** Tribe Pseudozonariini Lopez Soriano, 2006 *** '' Neobernaya'' Schilder 1927 *** '' Pseudozonaria'' Schilder, 1929 *** '' Plaziatia'' Dolin & Lozouet, 2004 accepted as '' Pseudozonaria'' Schilder, 1929 ** tribe Zonariini Schilder, 1932 *** '' Proadusta'' Sacco, 1894 † *** '' Prozonarina'' Schilder, 1941 † *** '' Schilderina'' Dolin & Aguerre, 2020 *** '' Zonaria'' Jousseaume, 1884 *** † '' Zonarina'' Sacco, 1894 **** '' Schilderia'' Tomlin, 1930 * Not assigned to a subfamily ** '' Austrasiatica'' Lorenz, 1989 ** '' Barycypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** '' Blasicrura'' Iredale, 1930 ** '' Contradusta'' Meyer, 2003 ** '' Cribrarula'' Strand, 1929 ** '' Eclogavena'' Iredale, 1930 ** '' Ficadusta'' Habe & Kosuge 1966 ** '' Leporicypraea'' Iredale, 1930 ** '' Macrocypraea'' Schilder, 1930 ** ''

Mauritia ''Mauritia'' is a genus of fan palms which is native to northern South America and to the Island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Only two species are currently accepted. References

Mauritia, Trees of South America Trees of Trinidad ...

'' Troschel, 1863 ** '' Melicerona'' Iredale, 1930 ** † '' Miolyncina'' ** '' Notadusta'' Schilder, 1935 ** '' Notocypraea'' Schilder, 1927 ** '' Ovatipsa'' Iredale, 1931 ** '' Palmadusta'' Iredale, 1930 ** '' Palmulacypraea'' Meyer, 2003 ** '' Paradusta'' Lorenz, 2017 ** † '' Proadusta'' Sacco 1894 ** '' Purpuradusta'' Schilder, 1939 ** '' Ransoniella'' Dolin & Lozouet, 2005 ** '' Talostolida'' Iredale, 1931 ** '' Zoila'' Jousseaume, 1884

Species

For a list of

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the taxonomic

Cypraeidae, see

Cowries Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...

References

External links

Zonatus
Gallery {{taxonbar, from=Q1141733 Gastropod families Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque