Mauritia (gastropod)
Cowrie ( Mauritia arabica)
Mauritia is a worm genus of the family of cowries ( Cypraeidae ).
Features
The size of the housing ranges from about 32 mm (with M. depressa ) to 88 mm (with M. mauritiana ). They are cylindrical to oval, the mouth usually slightly curved. The edges are rounded or provided with Calli. The brown mouth teeth are formed from fine to strong. Usually they are short on the inner side ( towards the columella ) and extend over the deep concave fossula; They are usually longer and stronger on the outer side. The mantle of the living animal is in almost any case weak and transparent brown. The papillae are short and of fingerartigem growth.
Occurrence and distribution
The species of the genus Mauritia occur in the tropical waters of the Indopazifiks. They live under rocks in shallow Subtidal of cliffs, rocky beaches and coral reefs. They are mostly active at night and hide during the day under rocks and crevices. Some species of the genus is known to eat carrion ( dead fish and molluscs).
System
The genus Mauritia was erected by Franz Hermann Troschel 1863; Type species is Cypraea mauritia Linnaeus, 1758. It is not recognized by all authors as a separate species, but occasionally found as a subgenus of the genus Cypraea. Mauritia is divided into two groups: one in the " Mauritia - group" and the other in the " Arabica group ". These two groups were considered by a few authors as two separate genera ( Mauritia Troschel and Arabica Jousseaume ). However, recent studies reject this strong splitting and represent the types of the two groups to the genus (or subgenus ) Mauritia.
The Mauritia group includes large and heavy animals with strong housing teeth and a very dark case bottom usually. The Arabica group includes animals with more stretched - cylindrical housings of medium size, with fine but well- formed housing teeth and a net-like drawn, dark bottom case.
Species
Currently, about nine species assigned to the genus:
- M. arabica Linnaeus, 1758
- M. asiatica Signs and Signs, 1939
- M. depressa Gray, 1824
- M. eglantina Duclos, 1833
- M. grayana signs, 1930
- M. histrio Gmelin, 1791
- M. immanis Signs and Signs, 1939
- M. maculifera signs, 1932
- M. Scurra Gmelin, 1791