Talparia talpa

Talparia talpa, common name the mole cowry or chocolate banded cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.[1]

Talparia talpa
A live Talparia talpa in situ with its mantle almost fully extended, anterior end towards the right
Five views of a shell of Talaria talpa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Gastropoda
(unranked):
clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:
Cypraeoidea
Family:
Cypraeidae
Subfamily:
Luriinae
Genus:
Talparia
Species:
T. talpa
Binomial name
Talparia talpa
Distribution map of Talparia talpa
Synonyms[1]
  • Cypraea talpa Linnaeus, 1758(basionym)
  • Cypraea talpa imperialis (Schilder & Schilder, 1938)
  • Talparia talpa imperialis (Schilder & Schilder, 1938)

Subspecies
  • Talparia talpa imperialis Schilder, F.A. & M. Schilder, 1938 [2]
  • Talparia talpa saturata (Dautzenberg, Ph., 1903) [3]

Description

The shells of these quite uncommon cowries reach on average 50–70 millimetres (2.0–2.8 in) of length, with a minimum size of 23 millimetres (0.91 in) and a maximum size of 105 millimetres (4.1 in). They are very variable in pattern and colour. The dorsum surface is smooth and shiny, the basic color is brown or yellowish brown, with three or four yellow or light brown transversal bands. The margins, the base and the teeth are completely dark brown or black. Also the teeth are dark brown, but the teeth spacing is clearer or white. In the living cowries the mantle is greyish or black, with long cylindrical papillae. Mantle and foot are well developed, with external antennae. The lateral flaps of the mantle may hide completely the shell surface and may be quickly retracted into the shell.

Two shells of Talparia talpa, dorsal and apertural view
A shell of Talparia talpa, anterior end towards the bottom

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along East Africa (Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania), in the western Pacific (western Australia, Philippines), in Polynesia and Hawaii.

Habitat

These cowries live on coral reef or in shallow lagoons in tropical intertidal and subtidal waters up to 30 m depth. They can be found under ledges and in small coral caves at night, as they start feeding at dusk.

References
  1. Talparia talpa (Linnaeus). WoRMS (2009). Talparia talpa (Linnaeus). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216894 on 23 October 2010 .
  2. Gastropods.com : Talparia talpa imperialis; accessed : 23 october 2010
  3. "Talparia talpa saturata". Gastropods.com. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  • Verdcourt, B. (1954). The cowries of the East African Coast (Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Pemba). Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society 22(4) 96: 129-144, 17 pls.
  • Burgess, C.M. (1970). The Living Cowries. AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey
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