Data:

Dear friend,

Please help me to identify this specimen, i never seen this before, it was captured in the north of peru (panamic province) with a ostraea camp.

Thanks for the help

Send Ideas to: Julio Palacios K.

Identified: juvenile Macrocypraea cervus

Discussions:

• I believe this in an immature cowry species; however I do not know what Cowries live in Peru so cannot ID the species. ...Avril B.

• Dear Avril, Thanks for your answer, I also think that he is a youthful one of Cypraedidae, en Peru are not many species of family Cipraedidae: Cypraea arabicula, Cypraea robertsii and Cypraea cervinetta.
  I think is a young of C. cervinetta, it has pattern of color of a variety of cervinetta.
  Best regards, Eduardo Palacios

• I'd say the third one is Cypraea cervinetta. No other eastern pacific cowry gets that big. Beautiful shell. ...Peter E.

• Definitely a subadult Cypraea, but beyond that I can't venture. ... Andrew G.

• the Peru gastropod pictured by Julio Palacios (Sep 1, 2007) surely is a juvenile Macrocypraea cervus (Linnaeus, 1771). See the following presentation for comparative pictures:
  http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=458 ... Marlo K.