| Palmadusta humphreysii | |
|---|---|
| A shell of Palmadusta humphreysii from Solomon Islands, anterior end towards the right | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| (unranked): | clade Caenogastropoda clade Hypsogastropoda clade Littorinimorpha |
| Superfamily: | Cypraeoidea |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Genus: | Palmadusta |
| Species: | P. humphreysii |
| Binomial name | |
| Palmadusta humphreysii Gray, 1825 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Palmadusta humphreysii, common name : the Humphrey's Cowrie, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
Contents |
These quite uncommon shells reach on average 10–25 millimetres (0.39–0.98 in) of length. The basic color and pattern ot this species are quite variable. The dorsum surface is smooth and shiny, its color is white or pale pink, with many brown spots, while the edges and the extremities are orange with darker spots extended to the base. The underside may be orange, pale yellow, pale brown or pale pink, with a narrow sinuous aperture and well-developed teeth. In the living cowries the mantle is bright red, the mantle and the foot are well developed, with short papillae and external antennae.
This endemic species occurs in the sea along East Africa and Western Pacific Ocean (Malaysia, Queensland, New South Wales, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Fiji).
These cowries live in shallow water on coral reef at 5–25 millimetres (0.20–0.98 in) of depth, usually hiding under coral and rocks, feeding on algae or coral polyps.