Cribrarula gaspardi (Biraghi & Nicolay, 1993)
Pale sieve cowry, 10-20mm
Cribrarula gaspardi is
a smaller, paler version of Cribrarula cribraria. Differences from
that species are noted on the C.
cribraria page. Cribrarula
gaspardi is typically small with pale orange to orange-brown shell coloration
and a translucent orange mantle. The species is typically not found with C.
cribraria, preferring to live on seaward reef and lagoon pinnacle ledges
and caves, where it is active at night and where C. cribraria is generally
not found. Like some of the other red-mantled cowries, C. gaspardi
will often lose (autotomize) the rear portion of its foot when disturbed. So
far Cribraria gaspardi seems to be restricted to the vicinity of the
Marshall Islands.
The ID on the specimen below is
not certain. It was small and living in the typical C. gaspardi habitat,
but its mantle was darker red, more like C. cribraria. It is difficult
to tell the difference between C. gaspardi and C. cribraria
in some specimens. We suspect that many of the C. gaspardi in collections
are actually C. cribraria.
13.4mm, 9 July 1993
11.25mm, 29 August 1992
Created
1 April 2008
Updated 2 April 2024
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