Little Arabian Cowry Shell, Pseudozonaria arabicula

Little Arabian Cowry Shell, Pseudozonaria arabicula.Shell collected off the beach in the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, January 2009. Size: 2.6 cm (1.0 inch) x 1.7 cm (0.7 inches).

The Little Arabian Cowry, Pseudozonaria arabicula (Lamarck, 1810), is a gastropod mollosk that is a member of the Cypraeidae Family of Cowries. They are known in Mexico as cuari’ ara’bico. The shell is solid and oval with a curved, heavy, toothed aperture that is deeply notched at both ends. The dorsal surface of the shell is mottled yellowish brown on a gray background. They have a wide, light violet border wrapping around the shell margins, the border is also heavily spotted with black spots and the base is pinkish in color. The Little Arabian Cowry Shells reach a maximum of 3.7 cm (1.5 inches) in length and 2.4 cm (1.0 inch) in height.

Little Arabian Cowries are found under rocks and in the recesses of rock or coral reefs from the subtidal zone to depths up to 10 m (35 feet). They are found in the southern half of the Sea of Cortez and along the western coast of mainland Mexico, and as far south as Peru including the Cocos and Galapagos Islands. Interestingly, this same species is also found half a world away in the Indian Ocean along the coast of Kenya.

Synonyms include Cypraea arabicula and Cypraea gemmula.