Bean cowries (Triviidae)

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Phylum Mollusca > Class Gastropoda

Bean cowries
Family Triviidae
updated Sep 2020

Where seen? This tiny snail resembles a cowrie but belongs to a different family. It is found in coral reefs under rocks.

Features: About 1cm. The shell is white, oval with regular parallel ridges all around the shell including the upper side. There is a prominent groove along the length of the upper side, cutting across the ridges.

What do they eat? Bean cowries are believed to be predatory, feeding on compound ascidians.

Status and threats: Trivirostra oryza oryza is listed as 'Endangered' in the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. According to Davison, it was commonly found prior to the 1970s but has not been seen since.

Cyrene Reef, Jul 10
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his flickr.

Sentosa, Dec 09

Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his blog.

Cyrene Reef, Jun 11

Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his flickr.

Cyrene Reef, Jul 14
Photo shared by Loh Kok Sheng on his flickr.

Family Triviidae recorded for Singapore
from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
in red are those listed among the threatened animals of Singapore from Davison, G.W. H. and P. K. L. Ng and Ho Hua Chew, 2008. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened plants and animals of Singapore.
^from WORMS

Family Triviidae

Alaerato angulifera

Proterato angiostoma

Trivia edgari=^Trivirostra edgari
Trivia globosa=^Cleotrivia globosa
Trivirostra oryza (EN: Endangered) =Trivia oryza oryza=^Trivirostra oryza
Trivia pellucidula=^Trivirostra pellucidula
Trivia rubinicolor

Links

A rare snail at Sentosa the discovery by Loh Kok Sheng on his wonderful creations blog.
Trivirostra oryza oryza on the NParks Flora and Fauna website.

References

Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore (pdf), Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore.
Davison, G.W. H. and P. K. L. Ng and Ho Hua Chew, 2008. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened plants and animals of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore). 285 pp.
Gosliner, Terrence M., David W. Behrens and Gary C. Williams. 1996. Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific: Animal life from Africa to Hawaii exclusive of the vertebrates Sea Challengers. 314pp.

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