Tags: Arabian cowry | Cypraea Arabica | mollusk

Photo by Chao-Shyh-Min

The Arabian cowry (Cypraea arabica) is a medium-sized cowry with a solid, cylinder-shaped shell that is around 7~10cm long. The shell’s dorsal surface is covered with a grayish-white and light brown cloud-like pattern. Adult cowries are also covered with a complex pattern of dark brown lines. The shell’s sides are grayish-white with mottled dark-brown spots while the flat ventral surface is grayish-white and tinted a faint brown or red in parts. The teeth are reddish-brown. The Arabian cowry is mostly found in coral reefs and rocks in the intertidal zone and sub-intertidal belts zone.

The species is found in the Indo-West Pacific region, including the Philippines, Shark Bay in West Australia, and along the coast between West Australia (WA) and the middle of New South Wales (NSW). It is found in Taiwan's north, east and south as well areas such as Keelung, Taipei, Yilan, Taitung, Lanyu, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Siaoliouciou, Penghu and Nansha's Taiping Island.

Photo by Lee-Kun-Hsuan

National Museum of Natural Science (The Digital Museum of Nature & Culture)