Mauritia maculifera

Mauritia maculifera, common name : the blotched cowry or reticulated cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

Description
The shells of these cowries reach on average 44 - 54 mm in length, with a minimum size of 30 mm and a maximum size of 89 mm. The dorsum surface of these smooth and shiny shells is generally dark brown, with distinct large bluish dots. On the edges there are large brown spots. The base is white or pale brown or pale pinkish. The aperture is long and narrow, with several dark brown teeth. This species can be distinguished by a characteristic brown columellar spot. In the living cowries the mantle is transparent, with blue sensorial papillae and may cover the entire shell.

Distribution
This quite common species occurs in the Indian Ocean along Chagos and the Seychelles and in the Pacific Ocean (from South-East Asia, Philippines, Fiji and Micronesia through western Polynesia and Hawaii).

Habitat
This species lives in tropical shallow water, subtidal and low intertidal, usually under rocks or coral reefs at a minimum depth of about 4 m. As they fear the light, they start feeding at dusk mainly on sponges or coral polyps.

Subspecies
Four subspecies have been recognized :
 * Mauritia maculifera andreae Erdmann & Lorenz, 2017
 * Mauritia maculifera maculifera Schilder, 1932
 * Mauritia maculifera martybealsi Lorenz, 2002
 * Mauritia maculifera scindata Lorenz, 2002
 * Mauritia maculifera hawaiiensis Heiman, 2005 : synonym of Mauritia maculifera maculifera Schilder, 1932