{{Short description|Species of gastropod}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}} {{Speciesbox | image = Cypraeidae - Lyncina leviathan leviathan - Hawaii.JPG | image_caption = A shell of ''Lyncina leviathan leviathan'' from Hawaii, anterior end towards the left | taxon = Lyncina leviathan | authority = Schilder & Schilder, 1937 | synonyms_ref = <ref name="WoRMS" /> | synonyms = *''Cypraea leviathan'' <small>(Schilder & Schilder, 1937)</small> }}
'''''Lyncina leviathan''''' is a species of tropical sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.<ref name="WoRMS">[http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=529741 WoRMS : Lyncina leviathan]; accessed : 17 October 2010</ref>
==Description== The shells of these cowries reach on average {{convert|60|mm}} of length, with a minimum size of {{convert|22|mm}} and a maximum size of {{convert|98|mm}}. The dorsum surface of these elongated, smooth and shiny shells is pink-salmon, crossed by darker bands. The base is whitish or pale pinkish or pale brown, with a long and wide aperture with several teeth. In the living cowries the mantle is brownish, almost transparent and well developed, with external antennae and several sensorial tree-shaped papillae. This species is superficially similar to ''Lyncina carneola''. {| ||[[File:Cypraeidae - Lyncina leviathan leviathan - Hawaii only-2.JPG|thumb|200px|left|A shell of ''Lyncina leviathan leviathan'' from Hawaii, lateral view, anterior end towards the left]] ||[[File:Cypraeidae - Lyncina leviathan leviathan - Hawaii only-6.JPG|thumb|200px|left|A shell of ''Lyncina leviathan leviathan'' from Hawaii, dorsal view, anterior end towards the left]] ||[[File:Cypraeidae - Lyncina leviathan leviathan - Hawaii only-3.JPG|thumb|200px|left|Apertural view of a shell of ''Lyncina leviathan leviathan'']] |}
==Distribution== ''Lyncina leviathan'' is common throughout the tropical Indian (East Africa, Red Sea) and the central Pacific Oceans, in the sea along Thailand, Australia, Polynesia and Hawaii.
==Habitat== They inhabit rocky intertidal areas and caves in very shallow water, but they can reach up to {{convert|40|m}} of depth.
==Subspecies== Three subspecies are known: * ''Lyncina leviathan leviathan'' <small> Schilder & Schilder, 1937</small>- leviathan cowry, endemic to Hawaii * ''Lyncina leviathan bouteti'' <small> Burgess & Arnette, 1981</small>- Boutet's leviathan cowry, found throughout Polynesia * ''Lyncina leviathan titan'' <small>Schilder & Schilder, 1962</small>- titanic cowry, found throughout the Indian and central Pacific Oceans
==References== {{Reflist}} * Lorenz F. & Hubert A. (2000) A guide to worldwide cowries. Edition 2. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. 584 pp * Burgess, C.M. (1970). The Living Cowries. AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey
==Bibliography== *[http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cowries/CGDPhome.html Cowrie Genetic Database Project]
==External links== {{Commons category|Lyncina leviathan}} * [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id142874/ Biolib] * [http://www.cowry.org/archive/NAMESj_l.HTM#leviathan On-line articles with ''Cypraea leviathan'' in the '''HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS''' (1960-1994)] Hawaiian shell * [http://clade.ansp.org/obis/search.php/77348 Clade] * [http://www.underwaterkwaj.com/cowry/Lyncina-leviathan.htm Underwater]
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Category:Cypraeidae Category:Gastropods described in 1937
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