Monetaria caputserpentis, common name the serpent's-head cowry or snakehead cowry, is a species of cowry, a sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.WoRMS : Monetaria caputserpentis; accessed : 11 October 2010
Distribution This species occurs in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, tropical Indo-West Pacific, Australia and the Philippines. This sea snail lives on corals, rock reefs and rocky shores from the intertidal zone down to depths of 200 m.
Description The basic color of the shell is reddish-brown, with many whitish dots on the top of the dorsum, which sometimes shows a clear longitudinal line. The underside is light beige.
Frequently these shells are sold with a purple top, which is achieved by dipping the dorsum in acid.
Synonyms In literature and on various websites the synonym Cypraea caputserpentis is still commonly used.
References
Further reading Cantera J. R. (1991). "First record of the Indo-Pacific gastropod Cypraea caputserpentis (Linnaeus, 1758) at Isla Gorgona, Colombia". Veliger 34: 85–87. Meyer C. 2003. Molecular systematics of cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) and diversification patterns in the tropics. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 79: 401–459. page(s): 411
External links
Ladd, H.S. (1977). Cenozoic fossil mollusks from western Pacific islands; Gastropods (Eratoidae through Harpidae). U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper. 533: i–iv, 1–84, pls 1–23 On-line articles with Cypraea caputserpentis in the HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS (1960-1994) OBIS Indo-Pacific Molluscan database