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Naria helvola

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Naria helvola
Five views of a shell of Naria helvola
Specimen from Mlandingan Situbondo, East Java
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Littorinimorpha
Family: Cypraeidae
Subfamily: Erosariinae
Genus: Naria
Species:
N. helvola
Binomial name
Naria helvola
Synonyms[1]
  • Cypraea helvola Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
  • Erosaria helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Naria helvola, common name: the honey cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[1]

There are three subspecies:[1]

  • Naria helvola bellatrix (Lorenz, 2009)
  • Naria helvola hawaiiensis (Melvill, 1888)
  • Naria helvola helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Naria helvola meridionalis (Schilder & Schilder, 1938): synonym of Naria helvola helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Naria helvola var. callista (Shaw, 1909): synonym of Naria helvola helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Description

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These very common small shells reach on average 15–23 millimetres (0.59–0.91 in) of length, with a maximum size of 36 millimetres (1.4 in) and a minimum size of 8 millimetres (0.31 in). The basic color of the shell is orange-brown or beige, with many white dots on the top of the dorsum. The underside is orange-brown. In the living cowries the mantle is transparent, with short white papillae.

Naria helvola, lateral view, anterior end towards the right

Distribution

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This species occurs throughout the Indo-Pacific, along the Red Sea, Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, the East Coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Polynesia and Hawaii.

Habitat

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Naria helvola lives in intertidal and shallow subtidal waters or in lagoons, usually hiding during the day under the rocks of the reef.

References

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Notes
  1. ^ a b c Naria helvola (Linnaeus). Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 6 January 2019.
  • 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.
  • Burgess, C.M. (1970). The Living Cowries. AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey
  • Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg
  • Lorenz, F. (2017). Cowries. A guide to the gastropod family Cypraeidae. Volume 1, Biology and systematics. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 644 pp.
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