''Cypraeovula castanea'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

, a

cowry Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusc Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cypraeidae Cypraeidae, common name, commonly named the cowries ( cowry or cowrie), is a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of small to large sea snails. These are marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, ...

, the cowries.

Subspecies

*''Cypraeovula castanea castanea'' (Higgins, 1868) *''Cypraeovula castanea latebrosa'' Swarts & Liltved in Liltved, 2000 *''Cypraeovula castanea malani'' Lorenz & de Bruin, 2009

Description

The length of the shell attains 28.9 mm.

Distribution

This marine species occurs off the

Agulhas Bank The Agulhas Bank (, from Portuguese for Cape Agulhas, ''Cabo das Agulhas'', "Cape of Needles") is a broad, shallow part of the southern African continental shelf which extends up to south of Cape Agulhas before falling steeply to the abyssal pla ...

, South Africa

References

* Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) ''Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector’s Guide to Beached Shells''. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 60 * Higgins E.T. (1868). Description of six new species of shells. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. (1868): 178-180 , pl. 14 * Higgins E.T. (1868). Description of six new species of shells. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. (1868): 178-180 , pl. 14

External links

Higgins E.T. (1868). Description of six new species of shells. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. (1868): 178-180 , pl. 14

castanea The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description C ...

Gastropods described in 1868 {{Cypraeidae-stub