''Neobernaya spadicea'',

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

the chestnut cowrie, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of sea snail in the cowrie family,

Cypraeidae Cypraeidae, commonly named the cowries ( 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 ...

. Chestnut cowries can be found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from central California to Baja California. The chestnut cowrie has a highly glossy shell due to an enamel that is secreted from its mantle.

Distribution and habitat

The chestnut cowrie is the only species of cowrie in the

eastern Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It can be found in intertidal zones from

Monterey, California Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...

Isla Cedros Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is common in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, specifically around the Channel Islands. Chestnut cowries are rare in the portion of their range that is north of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coa ...

. Chestnut cowries live in kelp beds and rocky surfaces in

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

and subtidal zones, to a depth of 45 m. Chestnut cowries are often found under rocks and protected crevices.

Description

The top of the shell displays a large irregularly shaped caramel colored spot, with a dark brown border. The rest of the shell is white, including the bottom. There is a narrow aperture with small teeth that spans the length of the underside of the shell. The shell can grow until the cowrie reaches its adult form, then it stops. When undisturbed, their orange spotted mantle extends around the outside of the shell; when fully extended it can completely cover the shell. The shell is glossy due to an enamel that is secreted from the edges of the mantle. Retracting and extending the mantle acts as a buffer, shining the shell while depositing new enamel. The foot of this species is white. The adult shell of this species ranges in size from 40 to 65 mm.

Ecology

Diet

The chestnut cowrie is a scavenger and carnivore; common food items include anemones, sponges, tunicates, eggs, and dead organisms.

Reproduction

Chestnut cowries lay batches of eggs during the summer months. Each batch consists of approximately 100 egg capsules with each egg capsule containing several hundred eggs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3006698 Cypraeidae Gastropods described in 1823