Isabella Cowry Shell, Luria isabellamexicana

Isabella Cowry Shell, Luria isabellamexicana. Shell collected off the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, June 2009. Size: 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 1.5 cm (0.6 inches).

The Isabella Cowry, Luria isabellamexicana (Stearns, 1893), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Cypraeidae Family of Cowries. They are also known as the Banded Cowry and Isabel’s Cowry and in Mexico as cuari’ trazado. This species was first described by R.E.C. Stearns who worked for the U.S. National Museum and the U.S. Geologic Survey as a malacologist, paleontologist, and naturalist, as well as an Author, Newspaper Editor, and University Administrator. The shell has a cylindrical profile with a long aperture that is lined with short teeth. The shell is light beige or fawn colored dorsally crossed by thin discontinuous longitudinal markings with a white base and reddish to burnt orange colored “end caps” and marked with two black spots that resemble eyespots. Isabella Cowry shells reach a maximum of 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) in length and 1.7 cm (0.7 inches) in height..

The Isabella Cowry are found under rubble in rock and within holes in the reef from the intertidal zone to depths up to 32 m (105 feet). They are nighttime predators than consume algae, coral polyps and sponges. They are found from La Paz to Ecuador including the Clipperton and Galapagos Islands.

Synonyms include Cypraea isabella mexicana.