Staphylaea staphylaea
(Linnaeus, 1758)
This is not nudibranch or sea slug
Photographed by: Graham Abbott
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Subclass: | Prosobranchia |
| Order: | Sorbeoconcha |
| Family: | Cypraeidae |
| Species: | Staphylaea staphylaea |
Comment from Richard Willan on photo #1072
This cowrie shell [here the shell is completely covered by the animal so it is not visible], is distinctive in having long finger-like projections off the mantle with short side branches arising near the largest projections. One can just make out the line where the two halves of the mantle touch each other dorsally (just to the right of the midline). Rather than being included in the broad genus Cypraea, this species of cowrie is now properly placed in the genus Staphylaea, so its name is what’s called a tautonym – Staphylaea staphylaea.Locality:
