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| shelled snails text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Family Cypraeidea |
| Wandering
cowrie Cypraea errones Family Cypraeidae updated Jan 11
Where seen? This little cowrie is commonly seen on our Northern shores usually under stones, but sometimes crawling about in the open. Sometimes also seen on our Southern shores among coral rubble. Features: 2-3cm. Shell cylindrical. Upperside variable patterns with one or two brown spots at the front tip of the shell, sometimes no spots. Underside without coloured 'teeth'. Sometimes confused with the Ovum cowrie (Cypraea ovum) which is similar but is pear-shaped, does not have spots at the front end of the shell and has 'teeth' that are tinged yellow or orange. Here's more on how to tell apart Wandering and Ovum cowries. When the shell is completely covered in its mantle, it is sometimes mistaken for a sea slug. Here's more on how to tell apart slugs and animals that look like slugs. Leave cowries alone: Mother wandering cowries often lay their eggs under stones and then stay over their eggs. So if you see a cowrie under a stone, please don't rip it off. You might inadvertently separate a mother from her eggs! |
 Sisters Island, Dec 08  Red tentacles. |
Cowries are often well camouflaged. Look carefully for
them.
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 'Teeth' not coloured. |
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 Shell cylindrical. |
 One or two spots on the front of the shell. |
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Wandering cowries on Singapore shores
 Guarding eggs Chek Jawa, May 05 |
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Links
References
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Graham Brash, Singapore. 145 pp.
. IKAN-Unterwasserachiv. 723pp.|
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