Mauritia arabica   (Linnaeus, 1758)

Arabian cowrie
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Mauritia arabica

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Gastropoda | Littorinimorpha | Cypraeidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range ? - 10 m (Ref. 126058).  Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 10.5 cm SHL male/unsexed; (Ref. 349); common length : 8.0 cm SHL male/unsexed; (Ref. 349)

Short description Morphology

Shell is smooth and shiny, with an elliptical to egg-like shape. Brown, with distinctive variable fine dark brown line patterns on the dorsal surface and black spots on the two sides. Ventral surface appears cream to gray. Aperture is long and narrow, without an operculum. Both upper and lower lips are lined with small teeth.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Collected for food by coastal populations in many areas. Shell used in shellcraft or sold for collections (Ref. 349). Found in coral reef and rocky habitats, common in shallow water and tide pools (Ref. 128042), under slabs and stones and in caverns of the outer edge of coral reefs. Inhabits well-aerated waters. Mainly nocturnal (Ref. 349). Members of the family Cypraeidae are primarily carnivores (Ref. 67623). Reported from Hong Kong to be found on the ceilings and walls of submarine caves (Ref. 126058).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the order Neotaenioglossa are mostly gonochoric and broadcast spawners. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktonic trocophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Poutiers, J.M. 1998. (Ref. 349)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
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Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 25.1 - 29.3, mean 28.4 (based on 2882 cells).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.