Mauritia histrio

{{Short description|Species of gastropod}} {{Speciesbox | image = Mauritia_histrio_01.JPG | image_caption = Five views of a shell of ''Mauritia histrio'' | genus = Mauritia (gastropod) | species = histrio | authority = (Gmelin, 1791) | synonyms_ref = | synonyms = }}

'''''Mauritia histrio''''', common name the '''harlequin cowry''' or the '''stage cowry''', is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.<ref name="WoRMS">{{WRMS species|216870|''Mauritia histrio'' (Gmel.)|||WoRMS (2009). Mauritia histrio (Gmel.). Accessed through the World Register of Marine Species at <nowiki>http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=216870</nowiki> on 16 October 2010}}</ref>

==Description== These quite common large shell reach on average {{convert|40|-|55|mm}} of length, with a maximum size of {{convert|88|mm}} and a minimum adult size of {{convert|20|mm}}. The basic color of the shell is pale brown, with many grey round spots on the dorsum surface and several dark brown marginal spots on the edges. The base is mainly white or pale brown, with a wide aperture and well-developed darker teeth, longer and stronger on the outer side. In the living mollusk the mantle is transparent, with short papillae. ''Mauritia histrio'' is quite similar to ''Cypraea arabica'' and ''Mauritia eglantina''.

thumb|A lateral view of a shell of ''Mauritia histrio'' from Philippines, anterior end towards the right thumb|''Mauritia histrio'' from the Philippines, dorsal view thumb|A dorsal view of ''Mauritia histrio westralis''

==Distribution== thumb|Distribution map of ''Mauritia histrio'' This species is distributed in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific Ocean, along Aldabra, Chagos, East Africa, Kenya, Madagascar, the Mascarene Basin, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, the Seychelles, Tanzania, North West Australia and Philippines.

==Habitat== ''Mauritia histrio'' lives in tropical shallow water. It is nocturnal, hiding during the day under rocks, large blocks or in deep crevices in coral reefs.

==Synonyms== *''Cypraea histrio'' Gmelin, 1791 (basionym) *''Cypraea reticulata'' Martyn, 1784 *''Cypraea amethystea'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Cypraea histrio'' Gmelin, 1791 *''Cypraea oculata'' Röding, 1798 *''Cypraea undosa'' Röding, 1798 *''Cypraea arlequina'' Mörch, 1852 *''Arabica westralis'' Iredale, 1935 *''Mauritia (Arabica) histrio var. duploreticulata'' Coen, 1949

==Subspecies== * ''Mauritia histrio histrio'' Gmelin, 1791 * ''Mauritia histrio westralis'' Iredale, 1935

==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. * Felix Lorenz and Alex Hubert : A Guide to Worldwide Cowries, second revised edition - Conch Books, 2002 * Burgess, C.M. (1970) - The Living Cowries - AS Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey

==External links== {{Commons category|Mauritia histrio}} * [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id142973/ Biolib] * {{Gastropods.com|key=3|id=63|title=''Mauritia histrio''|access-date=16 January 2019}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110505043308/http://www.cowries.info/shell/histriomac/histrio.html Cowries] * [http://www.sealifebase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=105903&genusname=Mauritia&speciesname=histrio Mauritia species] * [http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/cowries/histrio.htm Cowries] * [http://clade.ansp.org/obis/search.php/8540 Clade]

Category:Cypraeidae Category:Gastropods described in 1791 Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin