# Trivia monacha > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trivia_monacha > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Trivia_monacha.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivia_monacha > Source revision: 1354931153 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Species of gastropod Trivia monacha Live spotted cowrie in a petri dish Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Subclass: Caenogastropoda Order: Littorinimorpha Family: Triviidae Genus: Trivia Species: T. monacha Binomial name Trivia monacha (da Costa, 1778) ***Trivia monacha***, also known as the **European cowrie** or **spotted cowrie**, is a [species](/source/Species) of small [sea snail](/source/Sea_snail), a [marine](/source/Marine_(ocean)) [gastropod](/source/Gastropod) [mollusc](/source/Mollusc) in the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Triviidae](/source/Triviidae), the trivias. The name *Trivia* means "common" and the word *monacha* means "solitary". It is worth comparing this species with the similar species *[Trivia arctica](/source/Trivia_arctica)*, the northern cowrie. ## Shell description Lateral view of a shell of *Trivia monacha* Five views of a shell of *Trivia monacha* Adult *Trivia monacha* shells hand-picked from beachdrift, from near [Aberffraw](/source/Aberffraw), [Anglesey](/source/Anglesey). Scale is in cm. The [shell](/source/Gastropod_shell) of this species is glossy, convolute and lemon-shaped, with 20-30 transverse ridges. The dorsal part of the shell is a pinkish or reddish-brown with three characteristic darker spots in mature individuals, one spot anterior, the other posterior and one in the centre, all situated along a central line. Juvenile shells are all white or light-coloured. The [apertural](/source/Aperture_(mollusc)) side is white and flattened. The aperture is narrow and runs along the whole length of the shell. At the ends it turns to the left in the direction of the swollen body [whorl](/source/Whorl_(mollusc)). The transverse ridges are strong and often bifurcate. The ones at the ends are almost U-shaped. The shell length is up to a maximum of about 15 mm and its width about 8 mm. The dark [mantle](/source/Mantle_(mollusc)) is covered by few [papillae](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Papilla_(mollusca)&action=edit&redlink=1), usually tipped with pale yellow. The mantle is drawn out into a long [siphon](/source/Siphon_(mollusc)) anteriorly, extending over the whole (or almost the whole) shell. The foot is orange or bright yellow. The breeding season is late spring or summer. The larvae have a very dark stomach and intestine. More developed larvae in the [veliger](/source/Veliger) stage have a two-lobed velum (a structure used for swimming and particulate food collection) that is slightly indented at sides. The larvae reach the adult form in about five to six months. ## Distribution This species occurs from the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea) to the [Shetland archipelago](/source/Shetland_archipelago) in the north of [Scotland](/source/Scotland), but is more common in the south. In Orkney and some parts of Scotland, the species are known as 'groatie buckies' and are popular with local collectors. ## Habitat This species usually lives on rocky shores or under stones below low tide, in other words is [sublittoral](/source/Sublittoral), but the empty shells of this species are often washed up onto beaches. It is usually found together with compound [ascidians](/source/Ascidian) (*[Botrylus](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Botrylus&action=edit&redlink=1)*,*[Botrylloides](/source/Botrylloides)* and *[Diplosoma](/source/Diplosoma_(tunicate))*). *Trivia monacha* lacks small denticles on the admedian teeth of the radula. Furthermore, the rows of teeth in the two species are different. ## Life habits This snail feeds on [sea squirts](/source/Sea_squirt) and compound [ascidians](/source/Ascidian). It is one of several [Cypraeoides](/source/Cypraeoidea) that secrete acid when disturbed.[1] It has been suggested that the bright colour of the mantel is intended to [warn](/source/Aposematism) of this defence. ## Similar species *Trivia monacha* is sometimes confused with *[Trivia arctica](/source/Trivia_arctica)*. In fact they were considered to be two forms of the same species until 1925, when [Alfred James Peile](/source/Alfred_James_Peile) published a paper in the *[Proceedings of the Malacological Society](/source/Proceedings_of_the_Malacological_Society)* differentiating the two.[2] They can be differentiated by the [radula](/source/Radula), the shape of the [penis](/source/Penis) and their [larval](/source/Larva) stages. In *Trivia monacha* the penis is filiform and cylindrical, while in *Trivia arctica* the penis is large and flat. It is now known that the [larvae](/source/Larva) of the two species are readily distinguishable. The [Linnaean](/source/Carl_Linnaeus) name *Trivia europea*, now lapsed, referred to the supposed single species. Linnaeus himself mentioned two kinds: *Cypraea europea* and *Cypraea anglica*, but these terms were intended as a geographical distinction and are not accepted as species names today. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_1-0)** Thompson, T. E. (April 1961). ["Acid-Secretion in British Cowries"](https://academic.oup.com/mollus/article-abstract/34/4/210/1089702). *Journal of Molluscan Studies*. **34** (4): 210–211. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240226102920/https://academic.oup.com/mollus/article-abstract/34/4/210/1089702) from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024 – via Oxford Academic. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Peile A. J. (1925). "The Differentiation as Species of the two forms of British *Trivia*". *Proc. Malac. Soc.* 1925, pp: 195-198. ## External links - [Arkive.org: *Trivia monacha*](https://web.archive.org/web/20080511191503/http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/invertebrates_marine/Trivia_monacha/) - [Marlin: *Trivia monacha*](http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Triviamonacha.htm) - [Sabella.mba.ac.uk : The_British_species of *Trivia* : *T. arctica*_and *T. monacha*](https://web.archive.org/web/20110717054534/http://sabella.mba.ac.uk/782/01/The_British_species_of_trivia_T_arctica_and_T._monacha.pdf) - P.J. Wayward & J.S. Ryland, *Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe*, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-854055-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-854055-8) - Photos of [Trivia monacha](https://sealifecollection.org/taxon/141744) in the Sealife Collection Taxon identifiers Trivia monacha Wikidata: Q1377381 BOLD: 647017 CoL: 595XS EoL: 503391 EUNIS: 61744 GBIF: 5192813 iNaturalist: 180524 IRMNG: 10600258 ITIS: 73182 NBN: NBNSYS0000178459 NCBI: 2496348 Observation.org: 20368 OBIS: 141744 Open Tree of Life: 2893676 Paleobiology Database: 135729 SeaLifeBase: 5014 WoRMS: 141744 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Trivia monacha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivia_monacha) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivia_monacha?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.