Mexican Isabella Cowry Shell, Luria isabellamexicana
Mexican 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).
Phylogeny: The Mexican Isabella Cowry, Luria isabellamexicana (Stearns, 1893), is a gastropod mollusk that is a member of the Cypraeidae Family of Cowrie Shells. The genus Luria is one of fifty-five genera in this family, and there are six species in this genus. They are also known as the Banded Cowry, Isabel’s Cowry, and the Orange-tip Cowry and in Mexico as Cuarí Trazado and Isabella Mexicana. 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.
Description: The Mexican Isabella Cowry 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. The under side is white. This shell has reddish to burnt orange colored “end caps”, with two black spots that resemble eyespots. The living animal has a black mantle. Isabella Cowry shells reach a maximum of 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) in length and 1.7 cm (0.7 inches) in height. This species is very similar to the Isabella Cowry, Luria isabella, of the Central Pacific and Indo-Pacific.
Habitat and Distribution: Mexican Isabella Cowries are found under rubble, on rocks, and within holes in the reef in the intertidal zone and to depths up to 32 m (105 feet). They are a tropical Eastern Pacific species that is found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean from La Paz, Baja California Sur southto Guatemala, including the Revillagigedos Islands. They are rare in the Sea of Cortez, but reach their largest size there.
Ecology and Behavior: Mexican Isabella Cowries are nocturnal omnivores that feed primarily on algae, coral polyps and sponges. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. There is no mention in the available literature of them engaging in any types of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationships. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated however they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern.
Synonyms: Cypraea (Cypraeorbis) isabella var. isabelloides, Cypraea isabellamexicana, and Cypraea (Luponia) isabellamexicana.