Cypraea chinensis
Encyclopedia
Ovatipsa chinensis common name
the Chinese cowrie or the 'Clear Chinensis', is a species
of cowry
, a sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae
, the cowries.
and in the Central Pacific Ocean
, in seas along Red Sea
, East Africa
, Australia
, Indonesia
and Philippines
, in intertidal waters at 35–45 m (114.8–147.6 ) of depth . The Chinese cowry is active at night and hides under rocks in cracks and crevices during the day.
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
the Chinese cowrie or the 'Clear Chinensis', is a species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of cowry
Cowry
Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries...
, a sea snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae
Cypraeidae
Cypraeidae, common name the cowries , 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:...
, the cowries.
Description
The mantle of the living cowries is bright red, completely covered by short fringes. The shells of this species reach 25–50 mm (0.984251968503937–2 ) of length. They are smoot and elongate, light brown or yellowish with clear dots on the dorsum and a flat white base. In the subspecies Ovatipsa chinensis var. variolaria (Lamarck, 1810) the basic colorof the shell is light brown, with slight purple spots on the edges.Distribution and Habitat
This species is found throughout the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and in the Central Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, in seas along Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, in intertidal waters at 35–45 m (114.8–147.6 ) of depth . The Chinese cowry is active at night and hides under rocks in cracks and crevices during the day.
Subspecies
The following subspecies have been recognized :- Ovatipsa chinensis chinensis (Gmelin, 1791)
- Ovatipsa chinensis variolaria (Lamarck, 1810)
- Ovatipsa chinensis violacea (Rous, 1905)