Monetaria annulus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Gold-ringer cowry, 12-27mm

The gold ringer is almost strictly an intertidal reef dweller. When you see it, it tends to be very common. But the distribution is patchy; many parts of the reef seem to lack the species altogether. At Kwajalein, the oceanside reef flat behind the Kwaj Lodge and near the airport terminal supports a good population. They can also be found commonly to depths of about 2m in some of the reef quarries, particularly the older ones along the airfield. Under rocks on the oceanside reef of Roi-Namur is another place to see large numbers. The species appears to be less common in the northern atolls of the Marshall Islands. At Enewetak, they were quite uncommon. Individuals may be exposed in hollows and small tide pools on the reef, or they may live under chunks of dead coral and in crevices. The gold ringer is always smoothly rounded over the dorsal surface. Many specimens of the money cowry, Monetaria moneta, also sport gold rings on their shells, but these cowries are usually more irregular in shape. See the discussion of Monetaria moneta. The name annulus refers to the gold ring on the dorsum. Monetaria annulus is found throughout the Indo-Pacific except for most of eastern Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands. The Marshall Islands subspecies is Monetaria annulus annulus.

25.4mm, 1972

Created 1 April 2008
Updated 23 February 2020

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