Naria cernica (Sowerby, 1870)
Cernica cowry, 24-30mm

This species is known from the Marshalls only from a dozen or fewer empty or broken shells found deep on the seaward reef slope and one relatively fresh specimen found on a lagoon pinnacle near a deep-water pass in the reef (the specimen in the photograph below). Since no living ones have yet been seen, presumably the habitat is generally in deeper water along the dropoff. Although rare everywhere, this species is widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific, extending even to Easter Island and around the tip of South Africa slightly into the Atlantic. The subspecies in the Marshalls is Naria cernica cernica. The photos below show an empty 24.7mm shell found on 1 April 1996.

No live animal photo currently available

Created 22 September 2008
Updated 23 May 2022

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