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| shelled snails text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda > Family Cypraeidea |
| Onyx
cowrie Cypraea onyx Family Cypraeidae updated Aug 10 Where seen? This stunning snail with a golden-brown shell is sometimes seen on our undisturbed Northern shores, in silty sandy areas near seagrasses and coral rubble. Elsewhere, it is found in coral rubble and muddy areas including mangroves. Features: 3-4cm. Shell is pear-shaped, dark brown often with two or three bands of gold across it. The underside is black with an orange tinge on the 'teeth'. The mantle may be golden yellow speckled with black spots, white blotches and short white projections. Sometimes mistaken for a sea slug. 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. Human uses: It is collected for subsistence food by coastal dwellers and the shell for the shell trade. |
 East Coast, Nov 08  Side view. |
 Close up of 'teeth'. |
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 Underside covered with mantle. |
Onyx cowries on Singapore shores
 With mantle covering shell. Pulau Sekudu, Jul 05 |
 Shell exposed. |
 Underside. |
 Chek Jawa, Jan 02 |
 Pulau Sekudu, Jun 05 |
 Pulau Sekudu, Jun 04 |
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Links
References
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Graham Brash, Singapore. 145 pp.
. IKAN-Unterwasserachiv. 723pp.|
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