Mauritia histrio

Mauritia histrio
	Five views of a shell of Mauritia histrio
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Caenogastropoda
Order:	Littorinimorpha
Family:	Cypraeidae
Genus:	Mauritia
Species:	M. histrio
Binomial name
	Mauritia histrio; (Gmelin, 1791)

Mauritia histrio, common name the harlequin cowry or the stage cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.^[1]

Description

These quite common large shell reach on average 40–55 millimetres (1.6–2.2 in) of length, with a maximum size of 88 millimetres (3.5 in) and a minimum adult size of 20 millimetres (0.79 in). The basic color of the shell is pale brown, with many grey round spots on the dorsum surface and several dark brown marginal spots on the edges. The base is mainly white or pale brown, with a wide aperture and well-developed darker teeth, longer and stronger on the outer side. In the living mollusk the mantle is transparent, with short papillae. Mauritia histrio is quite similar to Cypraea arabica and Mauritia eglantina.

Distribution

This species is distributed in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean, along Aldabra, Chagos, East Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Tanzania, North West Australia and Philippines.

Habitat

Mauritia histrio lives in tropical shallow water. It is nocturnal, hiding during the day under rocks, large blocks or in deep crevices in coral reefs.

Synonyms

Cypraea histrio Gmelin, 1791 (basionym)
Cypraea reticulata Martyn, 1784
Cypraea amethystea Linnaeus, 1758
Cypraea histrio Gmelin, 1791
Cypraea oculata Röding, 1798
Cypraea undosa Röding, 1798
Cypraea arlequina Mörch, 1852
Arabica westralis Iredale, 1935
Mauritia (Arabica) histrio var. duploreticulata Coen, 1949

Subspecies

Mauritia histrio histrio Gmelin, 1791
Mauritia histrio westralis Iredale, 1935

References

^ Mauritia histrio (Gmel.). WoRMS (2009). Mauritia histrio (Gmel.). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216870 on 16 October 2010 .

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.
Felix Lorenz and Alex Hubert : A Guide to Worldwide Cowries, second revised edition - Conch Books, 2002
Burgess, C.M. (1970) - The Living Cowries - AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey

External links

Biolib
"Mauritia histrio". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
Cowries
Mauritia species
Cowries
Clade

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[WoRMS-1] Mauritia histrio (Gmel.). WoRMS (2009). Mauritia histrio (Gmel.). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216870 on 16 October 2010 .

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