Lyncina schilderorum
Encyclopedia
Lyncina schilderorum, common name
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...

s the sandy cowry or Schilder's cowry, 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. This species was named in honor of Franz and Maria Schilder, two German cowry biologists (hence the Latin name Schindlerorum, meaning Schilder's).

Description

The shells of these quite uncommon cowries reach on average 28–33 mm (1.1–1.3 ) of length, with a minimum size of 22 millimetre (0.866141732283465 in) and a maximum size of 43 millimetres (1.7 in). The surface is smooth and shiny, their basic color is brown-orange, with 3-5 wide light blue transversal bands. The base is whitish or bluish, with fine white teeth. The shell is quite similar to Lyncina sulcidentata
Lyncina sulcidentata
Lyncina sulcidentata, common name the Square Toothed Cowry or Groove Toothed Cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.-Description:...

, Lyncina carneola and Lyncina ventriculus
Lyncina ventriculus
Lyncina ventriculus, common name : the Ventral Cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.-Description:...

. In the living cowries mantle is whitish, with long tree-shaped sensorial papillae. Mantle and foot are well developed, with external antennae. The lateral flaps of the mantle may hide completely the shell surface and may be quickly retracted into the shell opening.
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Distribution

This species occurs in the northern and 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 the seas along the 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...

, Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...

, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

, Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....

, Polynesia
Polynesia
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

, Tuamotu Islands and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, excluding the Galapagos.

Habitat

These cowries mainly live in tropical intertidal waters, usually at 2–10 m (6.6–32.8 ) of depth, hidden under rocks or coral slabs during the day. At night they can be found on the reef or small caves, feeding on sponges or corals.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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