Palmadusta ziczac explained

Palmadusta ziczac is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

Subspecies and formae

• Palmadusta ziczac misella (Perry, 1811)
• Palmadusta ziczac ziczac signata (f) Iredale, 1939: synonym of Palmadusta ziczac (Linnaeus, 1758) ^[1]
• Palmadusta ziczac ziczac undata (f) (Linnaeus, 1758):^[2] synonym of Palmadusta ziczac (Linnaeus, 1758) ^[3]
• Palmadusta ziczac vittata (Deshayes, 1831)

Description

These quite common small shells reach on average 15- of length, with a maximum size of and a minimum size of . The basic color of these pyriform shells is light beige or light tan, crossed by three transversal white bands with a zigzag pattern. The base of the shell is yellow or orange-brown with some brown small spots, extended along both sides. The aperture is orange with several short teeth. In the living cowries the mantle is orange-red, with white papillae.

Distribution

This species is distributed in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean along Aldabra, Maldives, Chagos, the Comores, the East Coast of South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Somalia, and Tanzania and in the western Pacific Ocean along Melanesia, Bali, Philippines, Australia and Polynesia, except Hawaii.

Habitat

These cowries live in intertidal waters up to 5- of depth, in sandy lagoons and on coral reef, usually hiding under coral and rocks.

References

• 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
• Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. (1998) Marine Shells of South Africa. An Illustrated Collector's Guide to Beached Shells. Ekogilde Publishers, Hartebeespoort, South Africa, ii + 264 pp. page(s): 66

External links

• Biolib
• Underwater
• Flmnh

Notes and References

1. Moretzsohn, F. (2012). Palmadusta ziczac signata. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=597565 on 2012-05-10
2. http://www.gastropods.com/4/Shell_2664.shtml Gastropods.com : Palmadusta ziczac ziczac undata
3. Moretzsohn, F. (2012). Palmadusta ziczac f. undata. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=597567 on 2012-05-10