Propustularia surinamensis, common name the Surinam cowry or Suriname cowrie, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The common name and specific epithet refer to the northern South American country of Suriname (formerly the Dutch colony of Surinam).
Distribution This species is native to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, including the Gulf and Caribbean coasts of North, Central, and South America.
Occasionally dredged at 500 ft. depths, off West coast Barbados.
Description The maximum recorded shell length is 48 mm.Welch J. J. (2010). "The "Island Rule" and Deep-Sea Gastropods: Re-Examining the Evidence". PLOS One 5(1): e8776. .
Habitat Minimum recorded depth is 7 m. Maximum recorded depth is 780 m.
References
Crosse, H. 1878. Descriptions d'espèces nouvelles de mollusques. Journal de Conchyliologie 26:166-169, pl. 3. Fischer-Piette, E., 1950. - Liste des types décrits dans le Journal de Conchyliologie et conservés dans la collection de ce journal (avec planches)(suite). Journal de Conchyliologie 90: 149-180 Rosenberg, G.; Moretzsohn, F.; García, E. F. (2009). Gastropoda (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 579–699 in: Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. Meyer C. 2003. Molecular systematics of cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) and diversification patterns in the tropics. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 79: 401-459. Burgess C.M. (1985). Cowries of the world. Cape Town: Gordon Verhoef, Seacomber Publications. xiv + 289 pp Lorenz F. & Hubert A. (2000) A guide to worldwide cowries. Edition 2. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 584 pp.
External links Perry, G. (1811). Conchology, or the natural history of shells: containing a new arrangement of the genera and species, illustrated by coloured engravings executed from the natural specimens, and including the latest discoveries. 4 pp., 61 plates. London Coomans, H. E. (1963). Systematics and distribution of Siphocypraea mus and Propustularia surinamensis (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae). Studies on the Fauna of Curaçao and other Caribbean Islands: no. 68. 15(1): 51-71.