Luria gilvella Lorenz, 2002
Gilvella cowry, 11-25mm

Luria gilvella was recently differentiated from the similar Luria isabella based on a variety of shell and animal characteristics. However, it is often not easy to tell them apart from just the shells. Here in the Marshalls, the L. gilvella shell tends to be small and stout, pale yellow in coloration and often but not always lacking the longitudinal black lines present in L. isabella. The mantle is more of a translucent gray rather than the nearly opaque black of L. isabella. While some specimens of L. gilvella and L. isabella are easy to distinguish, some are difficult to tell apart. The specimen figured below may in fact not be L. gilvella. Specimens of L. gilvella have been identified from the Marshalls and western Polynesia across the Indo-Pacific to parts of the coast of Africa.

Updated 1 April 2008

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