Cypraeovula volvens 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 sea snail

Sea snail

Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....

, a 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 marine gastropod mollusk in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 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

Shell spheroid and umbilicate, light and fragile, small (20–23 mm). Dorsum variably colored, clear pink to dark violet, with rather small brown spots laterally, decreasing in size. Flanks weakly pointed and sometimes provided with small protuberances. Labial edge orange-pink, rather thickened, with the anterior labial extremity weakly evident and the posterior labial one more
developed. Base mostly clear, with margins colored and patterned as the dorsum; aperture curved and narrow. Labial dentition developed and coarse. Columellar dentition thinner, weakly evident, disappearing in the more callous specimens. Peristome smooth or with fine ribbing. Fossula rather thickened, shallow, with 3-4 well developed denticles in fully grown specimens. Soft parts generally translucent; head, mantle and foot cream-grey and weakly spotted with black. Mantle provided with numerous thread-like and semitransparent papillae.

Distribution

The holotype and paratypes were dredged in June 2003 on rocky bottoms by Philip J. Jooste off the eastern coast of South Africa, NE of Port Alfred, at a depth of about 88–100 m.