Cypraeidae

Cypraeidae
A living Cypraea chinensis with mantle fully extended
Shells of a number of species of cowries
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Cypraeoidea
Family:	Cypraeidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genera
See list

Cypraeidae, common name the cowries (singular: cowry), is a taxonomic family of small to large sea snails. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies.

Shell description

Cypraeidae have adult shells which are very rounded, almost like an egg; they do not look like a typical gastropod shell. In virtually all of the species in the family Cypraeidae, the shells are extremely smooth and shiny. This is because in the living animal, the shell is nearly always fully covered with the mantle.

Typically, no spire is visible in the fully adult shell, and there is a long, narrow, aperture which is lined with "teeth."

Juvenile cowry shells are not at all similar to adult cowry shells. The juvenile shells of cowries perhaps more closely resemble the shells of some "bubble snails" in the order Cephalaspidea. Also the shells of juvenile cowries seldom exhibit the same color patterns as the adult shells do, and thus can be hard to identify to species.

Cowries have no operculum.

Predators

The very narrow toothed aperture of the cowry shell makes the adult shells difficult for many predators to reach into. However cowries are still vulnerable to predation:

• Some tropical crustaceans can break the dorsum of a cowry shell.

• Some mollusc-eating cones like Conus textile can inject venom into the cowry's flesh. The cone then extends its stomach into the shell, through the slit, to completely ingest the flesh.

• Some octopuses can gouge a small hole (using a special barb/tooth and an acidic secretion) through the shell to inject a venom that kills the animal within.

Taxonomy

For nearly 200 years, every species in the family Cypraeidae was placed in one genus, Cypraea, but in 2002 ^[1] the cowries were divided into many different genera.

2005 taxonomy

The family Cypraeidae belongs, together with the family Ovulidae, to the superfamily Cypraeoidea. This, in turn, is part of the clade Littorinimorpha which belongs within the clade Hypsogastropoda according to the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005).

The following six subfamilies have been recognized in the taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi (2005) but are treated as alternate representation of Cypraeidae in the World Register of Marine Species :

• Cypraeinae Rafinesque, 1815
  • tribe Cypraeini Rafinesque, 1815 - synonym: Porcellanidae Roberts, 1870 (inv.)
  • tribe Mauritiini Steadman & Cotton, 1946
• Erosariinae Schilder, 1924 - synonyms: Cypraeacitinae Schilder, 1930 (inv.); Nariinae Schilder, 1932; Staphylaeinae iredale, 1935
• Erroneinae Schilder, 1927
  • tribe Erroneini Schilder, 1927 - synonym: Adustinae Steadman & Cotton, 1946
  • tribe Bistolidini C. Meyer, 2003
• Gisortiinae Schilder, 1927 - synonyms: Archicypraeinae Schilder, 1930; Bernayinae Schilder, 1927; Cpraeorbini Schilder, 1927; Mandolininae Schilder, 1932; Umbiliini Schilder 1932; Zoilinae Iredale, 1935
• Luriinae Schilder, 1932
  • tribe Luriini Schilder, 1932 - synonym: Talpariinae Iredale, 1935
  • tribe Austrocypraeini Iredale, 1935
• Pustulariinae Gill, 1871
  • tribe Pustulariini Gill, 1871
  • tribe Cypraeovulini Schilder, 1927
  • tribe Zonariini Schilder, 1932

Genera

Genera within the family Cypraeidae include:

• Subfamily Cypraeinae Rafinesque, 1815
  • Leporicypraea Iredale, 1930
  • Tribe Cypraeini
    • Cypraea Linnaeus, 1758
    • Cypraeorbis Conrad, 1865
    • Siphocypraea Heilprin, 1887
  • Tribe Mauritiini Steadman & Cotton, 1946
    • Macrocypraea
    • Mauritia Troschel, 1863

• Subfamily Erosariinae Schilder, 1924 - The taxonomy of Bouchet & Rocroi does not mention any tribes in this subfamily.

Apertural view of a shell of Nucleolaria granulata

• • Nucleolaria Oyama, 1959
  • Tribe Staphylaeini^{[citation needed]}
    • Cryptocypraea Meyer, 2003^[2]
    • Perisserosa ^[2]
    • Staphylaea Jousseaume, 1884
  • Tribe Erosariini^{[citation needed]}
    • Erosaria Troschel, 1863
    • Monetaria Troschel, 1863
    • Naria Broderip, 1837

• Subfamily Erroneinae Schilder, 1927
  • Tribe Erroneini Schilder, 1927
    • Austrasiatica Lorenz, 1989
    • Blasicrura Iredale, 1930
    • Contradusta Meyer, 2003
    • Eclogavena^[2]
    • Erronea Troschel, 1863
    • Ficadusta Habe & Kosuge 1966
    • Palmulacypraea Meyer, 2003^[2]
    • Purpuradusta Schilder, 1939
  • Tribe Bistolidini C. Meyer, 2003^[2]
    • Bistolida Cossmann, 1920
    • Cribrarula Strand, 1929
    • Palmadusta Iredale, 1930

• Subfamily Gisortiinae Schilder, 1927
  • † Afrocypraea Schilder, 1932
  • Archicypraea Schilder, 1926
  • Barycypraea Schilder, 1927
  • Bernaya Jousseaume, 1884
  • Gisortia Jousseaume 1884
  • Ipsa Jousseaume, 1884
  • † Mandolina Jousseaume 1884
  • Nesiocypraea Azuma & Kurohara, 1967
  • Palaeocypraea Schilder, 1928
  • Proadusta Sacco 1894
  • Umbilia Jousseaume, 1884
  • Vicetia Fabiani 1905
  • Zoila Jousseaume, 1884

• Subfamily Luriinae Schilder, 1932
  • Tribe Luriini Schilder, 1932
    • Luria Jousseaume, 1884
    • Talparia Troschel, 1863
  • Tribe Austrocypraeini Iredale, 1935
    • Annepona Iredale, 1935
    • Arestorides Iredale 1930
    • Austrocypraea Cossmann, 1903
    • Chelycypraea Schilder, 1927
    • Lyncina Troschel, 1863
    • † Miolyncina
    • Trona Jousseaume, 1884

• Subfamily Pustulariinae Gill, 1871
  • Tribe Pustulariini Gill, 1871

Neobernaya spadicea

Notocypraea piperita

• • • Pustularia Swainson, 1840
  • Tribe Cypraeovulini Schilder, 1927
    • Chimaeria Briano, 1993
    • Cypraeovula Gray, 1824
    • Notadusta Schilder, 1935
    • Notocypraea Schilder, 1927
    • † Notoluponia Schilder 1935
  • Tribe Pseudozonariini^{[citation needed]}
    • Neobernaya Schilder 1927
    • Pseudozonaria Schilder, 1929
  • Tribe Zonariini Schilder, 1932
    • Schilderia Tomlin, 1930
    • Zonaria Jousseaume, 1884
    • † Zonarina Sacco, 1894

Eclogavena quadrimaculata thielei

• subfamily ?
  • Contradusta Meyer, 2003^[2]
  • Melicerona Iredale, 1930
  • Muracypraea Woodring, 1957
  • Ovatipsa Iredale, 1931
  • Propustularia Schilder, 1927
  • Ransoniella Dolin & Lozouet, 2005

Species

For a list of Species in the taxonomic family Cypraeidae, see Cowries.

References

1. ^ Lorenz F. 2002. New Worldwide Cowries. Descriptions of new taxa and revisions of selected groups of living Cypraeidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Schriften zur Malakozoologie aus dem Haus der Natur-Cismar 20: 1-292, pl. 1-40
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Meyer C. P. (2003) "Molecular systematics of cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) and diversification patterns in the tropics". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 79(3): 401–459. doi:10.1046/j.1095-8312.2003.00197.x

Further reading

• Meyer, Christopher P. (2004). "Toward Comprehensiveness : Increased molecular sampling within Cypraeidae and its phylogenetic implications". Malacologia 46 (1): 127–156. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cowries/meyer_2004.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
• Felix Lorenz and Alex Hubert : A Guide to Worldwide Cowries, second revised edition, Conch Books, 2002, ISBN 3925919252

External links

• Cowrie genetic database project
• Zonatus Gallery