''Eclogavena quadrimaculata'', the four-spotted 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 ...

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 ...

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

*''Eclogavena quadrimaculata quadrimaculata'' (

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) *''Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei'' Schilder & Schilder, 1938

Description

Shells of ''Eclogavena quadrimaculata'' can reach a size of . The surface of these cylindrical shells may be whitish, pale grey or pale blue, with many small brown flecks and with two large rather triangular dark brown spots at each end (hence the common name and the Latin species name ''quadrimaculata''). These shells are completely white or pale yellowish underneath. Teeth are raised, not coloured and spread right across base up to the margin. The living animal shows a dark brown or black mantle with small white or pinkish spots.

Distribution

This species is present in Australia (

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

) and Philippines.WMSDB – Worldwide Mollusc Species Data Base
/ref> These cowries can be found under rocks and among coral rubble.

Gallery

File:Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei 001.jpg, Dorsal view of a shell of ''Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei'' File:Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei 002.jpg, Lateral view

References

* Gray, J.E. 1824. ''Monograph on the family Cypraeidae, a family of testaceous Mollusca''. Zoological Journal of London 1: 367-391 * Dillwyn, L.W. 1827. ''Remarks on the Cypraea described by Gray.'' Zoological Journal of London 3: 315-317 * Schilder, F.A. & Schilder, M. 1939. ''Prodrome of a monograph on living Cypraeidae.'' Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London 23: 119-231 * Burgess, C.M. 1985. ''Cowries of the World.'' Cape Town : Seacomber Publications 289 pp. * Lorenz, F. & Hubert, A. 2000. ''A Guide to Worldwide Cowries.'' Hackenheim, Germany : ConchBooks pp. 1–584. * Meyer, C.P. 2004. ''Toward comprehensiveness: increased molecular sampling within Cypraeidae and its phylogenetic implications''. Malacologia 46(1): 127-156
Meyer, C. 2005. ''Eclogavena quadrimaculata quadrimaculata Gray, 1824''. Cowrie Genetic Database Project. 2005

External links

Conchology

Animal Base

Bibliography

* A. Robin - Encyclopedia of Marine Gastropods, p 95/9 * Felix Lorenz and A. Hubert - Guide to Worldwide Cowries, p 367/25-27, 31-33 * Philippine Marine Molluscs, Vol. 1, p 102; Pl. 140/2, 4, 6 * Robertson, R. (1981). List of shell-bearing mollusks observed and collected at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Tryonia, 4: 1-32. LIRS catalog number 403 * Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore (pdf), Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore * Wilson, B. (1993). Australian Marine Shells: 1. Prosobranch gastropods. Odyssey Publishing, Kallaroo, Western Australia. * Liu J.Y. uiyu(ed.). (2008). ''Checklist of marine biota of China seas.'' China Science Press. 1267 pp. {{Taxonbar, from=Q5333058 Cypraeidae Gastropods described in 1824 Taxa named by John Edward Gray