Cypraecassis rufa
{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Cypraecassis rufa ventral view.jpg
| image_caption = Ventral view of a shell of Cypraecassis rufa, anterior end facing downwards
| genus = Cypraecassis
| species = rufa
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| synonyms = Cassis rufa Linnaeus, 1758
| synonyms_ref = {{cite worms
| id = 217000
| title = Cypraecassis rufa (Linnaeus, 1758)
| author = Edward Vanden Berghe
| year = 1997
}}
}}
Cypraecassis rufa is a species of large sea snail, a predatory marine gastropod mollusc in the family Cassidae. It is commonly known as the "bullmouth shell" or "red helmet shell", and also as the "cameo shell".{{Gastropods.com|key=3|id=103|title=Cypraecassis (Cypraecassis) rufa|access-date=8 January 2010}} Other names in English include bull's-mouth conch, red helmet or cameo shell.{{cite book |author1=ABBOTT, R. Tucker |author2=DANCE, S. Peter |title=Compendium of Seashells: A Color Guide to More than 4,200 of the World's Marine Shells |date=1982 |publisher=P Dutton. |location=New York |isbn=0-525-93269-0 |page=111}} In German it is called "Rote Porzellanschnecke", "Rote Helmschnecke" or "Feuerofen";{{cite web |title=Cypraecassis rufa (Linnaeus, 1758) vernacular |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217000#vernaculars |website=World Register of Marine Species |access-date=January 10, 2025}} and in Japanese, "マンボウガイ". It was classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, who described it as Buccinum rufum.{{cite book |author1=Caroli a Linné |author1-link=Linnaeus |editor1-last=Gmelin |editor1-first=Johann Friedrich |editor1-link=Johann Friedrich Gmelin |title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (Ed. 13. Volume 1, Part 6)|date=1791 |page=3473 |edition=13 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/83098#page/459/mode/1up |access-date=January 11, 2025 |language=Latin |quote=Habitat varior in mari americano et indico, testa fusca rufescente alboque varia , apertura coccinea : dentibus longis albis : sulcis intermediis nigris. (Habitat varies in the American and Indian seas, shell dark reddish and white, aperture scarlet: with long white teeth: black intervening furrows.)}}
Image:Schneckenhaus Oberseite DB.jpg
File:Cypraecassis rufaGlobal.png and protoconch, and right side of the shell.]]
Description
The shell is thick-walled and heavy, roughly oval and with a surface featuring three or four strongly nodular rows and spiral bands in grooves, clearly visible; orange and cream to reddish-brown in color, with lighter to gray spots. The inner and outer lips are glossy and marked by raised white teeth. The operculum is relatively small, only about 1/10th the length of the aperture.{{cite journal |author1=R. Tucker Abbott |author1-link=R. Tucker Abbott |title=The helmet shells of the world (Cassidae) Part 1 |journal=Indo-Pacific Mollusca |date=August 30, 1968 |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=69–70 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/49823850#page/69/mode/1up |access-date=January 11, 2025 |quote=C . rufa is a shallow water species living from the intertidal area to a depth of alrout 6 feet below low tide mark. It generally lives in fairly sheltered areas where the bottom is of coarse coral sand and algae near coral reef areas. Description —Adult shell 64 to 185 mm. (2 1/2 to 7 1/2 inches) in length, ovate, solid, usually heavy, with .3 or 4 rows of rounded knobs on the dorsum, and with a glossy, orange and brownish red parietal area.}}
The adult shell of this species can grow to be as large as 7 1/2 inches (185 mm) in length.
Distribution
This species is found along many shores of the Indo-Pacific, a biogeographic region comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two. It prefers sandy substrates near coral reefs, where it is a predator on sea urchins.{{cite book |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-first=M. |title=A guide to the seashores of Eastern Africa and the Western Indian Ocean islands |date=1997 |publisher=Sida/Department for Research Cooperation, SAREC |location=Stockholm |isbn=91-630-4594-X}}
The species has been observed from the coasts of East Africa to Polynesia; including Madagascar, Sri Lanka and the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean, through Indonesia and Melanesia to Polynesia; along China's coast as far north as Taiwan, also in southern Japan, northern Queensland, and the Fiji Islands, but has not been found in Micronesia, Hawaii or the coasts of India.{{cite web |title=Cypraecassis (Cypraecassis) rufa |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20201206004419/http://gastropods.com/3/Shell_103.shtml |website=Hardy's Internet Guide to Marine Gastropods|access-date=January 10, 2025 |quote=Shell size 65 - 200 mm}}{{cite web |title=Cypraecassis rufa (Linnaeus, 1758) |url=https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/86951 |website=SeaLifeBase |access-date=January 10, 2025 |quote=Members of the order Neotaenioglossa are mostly gonochoric and broadcast spawners. Life cycle: Embryos develop into planktonic trocophore larvae and later into juvenile veligers before becoming fully grown adults.}}
This species is found off the southern African coast from northern KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique. It is more common in Mozambique.Steyn, D.G. & Lussi, M. 2005. Offshore Shells of Southern Africa {{ISBN|0-620-33607-2}} It is also a common shell to find on the shores of Kenya.
References
{{Commons category|Cypraecassis rufa}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1895259}}
Category:Gastropods described in 1758
Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Cassidae-stub}}