Palmadusta asellus

{{Short description|Species of gastropod}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Palmadusta asellus.shell001.jpg

| image_caption =

| genus = Palmadusta

| species = asellus

| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

| synonyms_ref =

| synonyms = * Cypraea asellus Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)

| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies

| subdivision = See text

}}

Palmadusta asellus is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.{{WRMS species|216882|Palmadusta asellus (Linnaeus)|||WoRMS (2009). Palmadusta asellus (Linnaeus). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216882 on 10 October 2010}}

Description

Palmadusta asellus has a shell reaching a length of about {{convert|2.8|cm}}. The shells are white with three large brown transversal bands on the upper surface. The brown mantle shows several whitish spots. In the living cowry it covers almost entirely the shells.

Subspecies

Palmadusta asellus is divided into the following subspecies:

  • Palmadusta asellus asellus (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Palmadusta asellus bitaeniata (Geret, 1903)
  • Palmadusta asellus latefasciata Schilder, 1930
  • Palmadusta asellus vespacea (Melvill, 1905)

Distribution

This species is distributed in the seas along Aldabra, Chagos, the Comores, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, the Red Sea, Réunion, the Seychelles and Tanzania.

References

{{Reflist}}

  • Verdcourt, B. (1954). The cowries of the East African Coast (Kenya, Tanganyika, Zanzibar and Pemba). Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society 22(4) 96: 129–144, 17 pls
  • Burgess, C.M. (1970). The Living Cowries. AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey
  • [http://www.sealifebase.fisheries.ubc.ca/summary/Palmadusta-asellus.html Sea Life Base]