Cypraea tigris

Cypraea tigris
Anterior view of a live individual of Cypraea tigris with its mantle fully extended
Five views of a shell of Cypraea tigris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha
Superfamily:	Cypraeoidea
Family:	Cypraeidae
Subfamily:	Cypraeinae
Genus:	Cypraea
Species:	C. tigris
Binomial name
Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Synonyms[2]
Cypraea ambigua Gmelin, 1791 Cypraea feminea Gmelin, 1791 Cypraea flammea Gmelin, 1791 Cypraea tigrina Gmelin, 1791 Cypraea pardalis Shaw, 1794 Cypraea onca Röding, 1798 Cypraea nigrescens Gray, 1824 Cypraea alauda Menke, 1830 Cypraea chionia Melvill, 1888 Cypraea flavonitens Melvill, 1888 Cypraea hinnula Melvill, 1888 Cypraea ionthodes Melvill, 1888 Cypraea russonitens Melvill, 1888 Cypraea tigris var. lyncichroa Melvill, 1888 Cypraea zymerasta Melvill, 1888 Cypraea flavida Dautzenberg, 1893 Cypraea incarna Sulliotti, 1924 Cypraea laminata Sulliotti, 1924 Cypraea tristis Sulliotti, 1924 Cypraea nephelodes Lancaster, 1928 Cypraea tigris ambolee (f) Steadman, W.R. & B.C. Cotton, 1943 Cypraea volai Steadman, W.R. & B.C. Cotton, 1943 Cypraea fuscoapicata Coen, G.S., 1949

Cypraea tigris, commonly

The tiger cowry was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, and the species still bears its original name of Cypraea tigris.^[1] Its specific epithet tigris relates to its common name "tiger" (the shell however is spotted, not striped). This species is the type species of the genus Cypraea.

Subspecies and forms

• Cypraea tigris form incana Sulliotti, G.R., 1924^[3]
• Cypraea tigris form lyncicrosa Steadman, W.R. & B.C. Cotton, 1943^[4]
• Cypraea tigris var. schilderiana Cate, C.N., 1961
  Johnston Island, and Vietnam.^[6][7]
• Cypraea tigris form tuberculifera Sulliotti, G.R., 1924[8]

Description

Roughly egg-shaped and dextral, the glossy shell is large and heavy for a cowry. It measures up to 15 cm (6 in) in length, and the upper or dorsal side is white, pale bluish-white, or buff, densely covered with dark brown or blackish barely circular spots. Akin to many other Cypraea snails, the shells surface is notably effulgent, as if it were deliberately polished. There is sometimes a blurred red line along the length of the shell at the midline on the dorsal surface. The lower margins are rounded (that is, there is no sharp margin between the upper and lower surfaces of the shell as is found in some other cowries). The ventral side is white or whitish, and the shell opening is lined with tooth-like serrations.^[9]

As is the case in almost all cypraeids, two lateral extensions of the mantle are able to extend so as to cover the shell completely, meeting at the midline of the dorsal surface. The mantle can also withdraw into the shell opening when threatened. In this species, the exterior surface of the mantle has numerous pin-like projections that are white-tipped.

Distribution and habitat

The tiger cowrie is found on the ocean floor in the

This species is endangered in Singapore.^[10]

Diet

The

Despite the fact that this species does not occur in the

The shells of this species of cowry are still popular among shell collectors, and are also used as a decorative object, even in modern times.

The shell of Cypraea tigris is believed to help to facilitate childbirth: some women in Japan hold a shell of this species during childbirth.^{[citation needed]}

Large cowry shells such as that of this species were used in Europe in the recent past as a frame over which sock heels were stretched for darning, i.e. instead of using a darning egg. The cowry's smooth surface allows the darning needle to be positioned under the cloth more easily than when using a darning mushroom made of wood.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 
  A live individual of Cypraea tigris viewed from the posterior end; note the mantle partly covering the shell.
• 
  Cypraea tigris with mantle partly extended.
• 
  A living individual of Cypraea tigris
• 
  Closeup look of Cypraea tigris and its mantle with projections.
• 
  Drawing of a right-side view of the shell of Cypraea tigris from Index Testarum Conchyliorum (1742) by Niccolò Gualtieri.
• 
  Drawing of the ventral view of a shell of Cypraea tigris from Index Testarum Conchyliorum (1742) by Niccolò Gualtieri.
• 
  Drawing of the animal and the shell of Cypraea tigris; a) the shell b) the mantle c) foot d) siphon e) proboscis f) tentacles

See also

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cypraea tigris.

• On-line articles with Cypraea tigris in the HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS (1960-1994)
• OBIS Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database
• Photos of specimens of Cypraea tigris by Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
• Photo of Cypraea tigris schilderiana by Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
• Photos of Cypraea tigris on Sealife Collection