Superfamily Cypraeoidea | Scientific name Erronea errones Rank Species | |
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Similar Erronea, Erronea caurica, Lyncina lynx, Erosaria erosa, Erronea onyx | ||
Erronea errones, the wandering cowry or erroneous cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
Contents
Description
These very common shells reach on average 20–28 millimetres (0.79–1.10 in) of length, with a maximum size of 45 millimetres (1.8 in) and a minimum size of 13 millimetres (0.51 in). The dorsum is usually pale brown or greenish, with very variable patterns of darker greenish trasversal bands or spots. The base and the teeth of the aperture are white. In the living cowries the papillose greenish mantle grants the camouflage.
Distribution
This species is distributed in the East Indian Ocean along South India, Andaman Islands, Madagascar and Tanzania, as well in West Pacific Ocean along Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, New Caledonia, Samoa and Australia.
Habitat
These cowries live in shallow tropical waters at low tide, usually under rocks or stones, feeding on algae.