Blasicrura teres (Gmelin, 1791)
Length: 19.3mm, Width: 10.6mm, Height: 8.5mm. Scuba, day, 65 ft, under rubble. Agana Bay, Guam. Collected by Bob Abela on 29 June 2005.
Length: 17.8mm, Width: 9.3mm, Height: 7.4mm. Scuba, night, 20 ft, exposed in surge channel just beyond reef drop. 17.8mm. Ritidian Point, Guam. Collected by Bob Abela on 05 July 2003.
Length: 31.1mm, Width: 16.8mm, Height: 13.3mm. Snorkel, night, 4 ft, exposed on coral rubble lying over the shallow reef flats. Asan Point, Guam. Collected by Bob Abela on 28 October 1987.
Length: 21.0mm, Width:10.9mm, Height: 8.7mm. Scuba, night, 10 ft, in crevice just beyond reef drop. Ritidian Point, Guam. Collected by Bob Abela on 24 April 1988
Distribution: Widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Habitat: Prefers the exposed outer reef areas, shallow or deep water. Under rubble by day, exposed on reef at night.
Availability: Not too uncommon but more difficult to find by day. Night time is the best time to find them.
Size: Guam specimens are typically range between 18 and 30mm.
Comments: I strongly recommend reading Lorenz's chapter on "The Blasicrura (Talostolida) teres species-complex" from his book New Worldwide Cowries. In this work, he indicates the range of B. t. alveolus, which includes Guam, as within the range of B. t. teres. Additionally, he raises B. pelluscens from subspecies to species. And the broad Indo-Pacific range he assigns does include Guam. In Heiman's Diagnosing Cowry Species, he keeps B. pelluscens under synonymy of B. teres.
As more specimens become available, detailed close-ups (particularly of the mantle and papillae) will be presented.
References:
Abbott, R. Tucker & S. Peter Dance. Compendium of Seashells. p. 93.
Burgess, C. M. 1985. Cowries of the World. p. 146-147.
Cate, Crawford N. 1969. The Cowry Species Living at Guam. The Veliger 12(1):128. pl. 24, fig. 51.
Cernohorsky, Walter O. 1971. Marine Shells of the Pacific. revised ed. p. 100. pl. 19, fig. 108.
Heiman, E. L. 2004. Diagnosing Cowry Species. p. 40, 101.
Hinton, Alan. 1972. Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific. p. 22. pl. 11, fig. 24-25.
Kay, E. Alison. 1979. Hawaiian Marine Shells. p. 200. fig 69 H-I.
Kira, Tetsuaki. 1965. Shells of the Western Pacific In Color, Vol. I. p. 49. pl. 20, fig. 27.
Lorenz, Felix. 2002. Ch. 13: The Blasicrura teres species-complex. New Worldwide Cowries. p. 93-125. fig. 10-31. map 28-31.
Lorenz, Felix & Alex Hubert. 2000. A Guide to Worldwide Cowries. p. 163-164. pl. pl. 73, fig. 21, 24-28, 26-28, 30-31; pl. 74, fig. 1-20; pl 75, fig. 1-30; pl. 76, fig b-c; pl. 111, fig a-c.
Springsteen, F. J. & F. M. Leobrera. 1986. Shells of the Philippines. p. 87. pl. 22, fig. 9.
Walls, Jerry G. 1979. Cowries. Second ed. p. 219.
Wilson, Barry. 1993. Australian Marine Shells, Part One. p. 177-178. pl. 32, fig. 3 a-b.
Links:
- Chris Meyer's Cowrie Genetic Database Project offers this live image
- OBIS Indo-Pacific Molluscan Database
- Bob Dayle's Visual Database of Hawaiian Cypraea teres-related specimens
- On Blasicrura Teres-like Shells Of The Hawaiian Waters (Statistical analysis of Bob Dayle's data by Ed Heiman)
