''Trona stercoraria'',

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 rat cowry or droppings 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

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 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.

Description

The shells of these common cowries reach on average of length, with a minimum size of and a maximum size of . They are very variable in pattern and colour. The shape ranges from oval to rhomboidal. The surface is smooth and shiny, the basic color is bluish, greenish or greyish, but it can be completely dark brown or whitish. Normally there is a dense dark brown spotting on the dorsum. The wide margins are usually dark brown and the anterior and posterior canals end into well developed 'rostra'. The base may be purplish, light brown, pinkish or white, with a long and narrow aperture and long brown, beige or white fine teeth with brown spacing. The 'fossula' is considerably protruding.

Distribution

''Trona stercoraria'' occurs in west

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

along

Cape Verdes , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, São Tomé Island, the

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Habitat

These cowries usually live in shallow waters under large rocks.

Subspecies

* ''Trona stercoraria stercoraria'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (synonyms : ''Cypraea conspurcata'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791; ''Cypraea fasciata'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791; ''Cypraea gibba'' Gmelin, J.F., 1791; Cypraea ligata Röding, P.F., 1798; ''Trona cineracea'' Sulliotti, G.R., 1924) * ''Trona stercoraria minima'' (Linnaeus, C., 1758) * ''Trona stercoraria var. rattus'' (Lamarck, 1810): accepted as ''Trona stercoraria'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Trona stercoraria var. tumulosa'' (Meuschen, 1778) accepted as ''Trona stercoraria'' (Linnaeus, 1758)

References

* Meuschen, F.C. (1778). Mvsevm Gronovianvm. Sive Index Rervm Natvralivm tam Mammalivm Amphibiorvm Piscivm Insectorvm Conchyliorvm Zoophytorvm Plantarvm et Mineralivm exqvisitissimorvm qvam Arte factarvm nonnvllarvm. Inter qvae eminet Herbarivs siccvs Plantarvm a Tovrnefortio Claitonio Linnaeo aliisqve Botanicis collectarvm. Qvae omnia mvlta Cvra et magnis Svmptibvs sibi comparavit Vir amplissimvs & celeberrimvs Lavr. Theod. Gronovivs J.V.D. Civitatis Lvgdvno Batavae Senator et Scabinvs Societatis Regiae Londinensis Basilaeensis et Hollandiae qvae Harlemi est aliorvmque Socivs &c. &c. Th. Haak & Socios J. Meerburg, Lvgdvni Batavorvm, vi + 251 * Bernard, P.A. (Ed.) (1984). Coquillages du Gabon hells of Gabon Pierre A. Bernard: Libreville, Gabon. 140, 75 plates pp. * Lorenz & Hubert (2000). A guide to worldwide cowries. ConchBooks 1-584 page(s): 52 * Burgess, C.M. (1985) Cowries of the World. Gordon verhoef, Seacomber Publications, South Africa, Cape Town. XIV + 289 pp. page(s): 111

External links

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition
vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae]
Blainville, H. M. D. de. (1824). Mollusques, Mollusca (Malacoz.), pp. 1-392. In: Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles (F. Cuvier, ed.), vol. 32. Levrault, Strasbourg et Paris, & Le Normant, Paris

Gmelin, J. F. (1791). Vermes. In: Gmelin J.F. (Ed.) Caroli a Linnaei Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Ed. 13. Tome 1(6). G.E. Beer, Lipsiae

Lamarck (J.-B. M. de). (1810). Sur la détermination des espèces parmi les animaux sans vertèbres, et particulièrement parmi les Mollusques testacés. Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 15: 20-40

Gastropods

Biolib
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trona Stercoraria Cypraeidae Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Marine molluscs of Africa Gastropods of Cape Verde Invertebrates of West Africa