Relevant Synonyms Palmadusta gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849) Misidentification Cypraea fimbriata Gmelin, 1791 [Moazzo, 1939]  photo: S. Gofas / Coll. G. Bitar

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell ovoid, oblong, not tapering anteriorly, smooth and glossy. Aperture surrounded by a thickened, porcellaneous callus and extending along the whole length of the shell. Outer lip curled in and with 15-16 denticles on the inner side, columellar edge with a row of teeth more closely set than those of the outer lip, gradually larger and more oblique towards the anterior end. color : shell bluish green with tiny brown specks all over and a few large, blurry brown blotches on the dorsal side; callus around the aperture, cream with scattered dark brown spots, both ends of the aperture with paired brown/purplish blotches. The subspecies notata is distinguished by the bright red color of the mantle lobes of the animal, contrasting with the dark brownish color in P. gracilis gracilis (see Doneddu and Manunza, 1994). common size : 15-17 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The rather cylindrical outline, spotted pattern around the aperture, and bluish pattern on the dorsal surface of the shell are distinctive characteristics which make unlikely a confusion with any native species. The shell of Erronea caurica, once reported in the Mediterranean but which we reject as such, is similar but larger, has few and less distinct spots on the sides, and has no purple marks around the canal. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Unknown. habitat : on shallow sublittoral rocky bottoms.

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1983 [1981]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Eastern Indian Ocean, Somalia, Red Sea; nominal subspecies Purpuradusta gracilis gracilis in the Eastern Indian Ocean and tropical Western Pacific (Lorenz and Hubert, 1993). Mediterranean: recorded first from Israel in 1981 (Mienis and Singer, 1983) as Cypraea gracilis; successively from southern Turkey (Blöcher, 1983); Lebanon (Bitar and Kouli-Bitar, 1999); Cyprus, Xylophagou area : in May 2000 two live specimens of 16 mm and 14 mm on rocks at low water mark, almost out of the water (J. Varnavas, pers. comm.). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Moderately common where established. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Possibly via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Bitar G. and Kouli-Bitar S., 1999. Inventaire des mollusques marins benthique du Liban et remarques biogéographiques sur quelques espèces nouvellement signalées. Mésogée, 56: 37-44. Blöcher M., 1983. A dead specimen of Palmadusta gracilis (Gaskoin, 1849) found in the Mediterranean. La Conchiglia, 166-167: 10. Doneddu M. and Manunza B., 1994. Palmadusta gracilis notata (Gill, 1858). La Conchiglia, 273: 25-26.   Lorenz F. and Hubert A., 1993. A Guide to worldwide cowries. Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden, 571 p. Mienis H.K. and Singer B., 1983. Cypraea gracilis: an interesting addition to the mollusk fauna of the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Levantina, 46: 535-537. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update : January 2005 ©ciesm 2002