Lyncina lynx


Lyncina lynx, common name : the lynx cowry or eyed cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

Description

Lyncina lynx is quite common. The shells of these cowries are very variabile in pattern and size. They reach on average of length, with a minimum size of and a maximum size of. The dorsum surface of these smooth and shiny shells is generally pale brown, pale purple or grey, densely covered with small and large dark brown or purple dots. The large spots are extended to the edges. The base is white or pale brown. The aperture is long and narrow, with several white teeth and a bright reddish spacing. In the living cowries the mantle is transparent, with tree-shaped white sensorial papillae and may cover the entire shell.

Distribution

This species occurs in the Red Sea, in the Indian Ocean along South-East Africa and in the western Pacific Ocean.

Habitat

These cowries live in tropical shallow water, subtidal and intertidal, usually under rocks or corals up to about of depth. They start feeding at dusk, mainly on sponges.

Subspecies

  • Cypraea lynx var. williamsi Melvill (naturalist)|Melvill], 1888
  • Cypraea lynx globosa Dautzenberg, 1902
  • Cypraea lynx var.michaelis Melvill, 1905
  • Cypraea lynx var. incrassata Dautzenberg, 1929
  • Lyncina lynx pacifica Steadman & Cotton, 1943
  • Cypraea lynx var. javana Coen, 1949