| Cypraea spadicea | |
|---|---|
| A live Cypraea spadicea, in situ, mantle partly extended, head end to the right | |
| An apertural view of a shell of the species, anterior end to the left | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda |
| Superfamily: | Cypraeoidea |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Genus: | Neobernaya |
| Species: | N. spadicea |
| Binomial name | |
| Neobernaya spadicea (Swainson, 1823) |
|
Neobernaya spadicea, previously known as Cypraea spadicea, common name the chestnut cowrie, is a species of tropical sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
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This species is a subtropical cowry which occurs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. It is relatively common in Southern California. It does occur from Monterey, California, through Southern California, and south to Cedros Island, in Baja California, Mexico, but north of Santa Barbara, California, it is not often found.
The adult shell of this species ranges in size from 40 to 65 mm. The name "chestnut cowry" come from a large patch of a rich chestnut brown on the dorsum of the shell, ringed with a darker brown, against a white background.
This species lives on exposed rocky shores in the very low intertidal and subtidal zones. It is found on overhanging rock ledges and on other somewhat sheltered rock surfaces.