Naria helvola (Linnaeus 1758)

Naria helvola, common name: the honey cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.^[1]

There are three subspecies:^[1]

• Naria helvola bellatrix (Lorenz, 2009)
• Naria helvola hawaiiensis (Melvill, 1888)
• Naria helvola helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Naria helvola meridionalis (Schilder & Schilder, 1938): synonym of Naria helvola helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Naria helvola var. callista (Shaw, 1909): synonym of Naria helvola helvola (Linnaeus, 1758)

Description

These very common small shells reach on average 15–23 millimetres (0.59–0.91 in) of length, with a maximum size of 36 millimetres (1.4 in) and a minimum size of 8 millimetres (0.31 in). The basic color of the shell is orange-brown or beige, with many white dots on the top of the dorsum. The underside is orange-brown. In the living cowries the mantle is transparent, with short white papillae.

Naria helvola, lateral view, anterior end towards the right

Distribution

This species occurs throughout the Indo-Pacific, along the Red Sea, Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, the East Coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Polynesia and Hawaii.

Habitat

Naria helvola lives in intertidal and shallow subtidal waters or in lagoons, usually hiding during the day under the rocks of the reef.

References

Notes

• Verdcourt, B. (1954). The cowries of the East African Coast (Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Pemba). Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society 22(4) 96: 129-144, 17 pls.
• Burgess, C.M. (1970). The Living Cowries. AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey
• Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg
• Lorenz, F. (2017). Cowries. A guide to the gastropod family Cypraeidae. Volume 1, Biology and systematics. Harxheim: ConchBooks. 644 pp.