Cypraeidae spp.
Cowries are glossy-shelled sea snails that hide under rocks and ledges by day and feed at night. How to spot one on a dive.
Cowries are sea snails with smooth, glossy, egg-shaped shells and a long, narrow, toothed opening along the underside. On a living cowrie the shell is often hidden: the animal stretches two flaps of its mantle up and over the shell, so you may see a soft, patterned or knobbly body instead of polished shell. Many cowries hide under rocks, ledges and coral rubble by day and come out to feed at night, so check crevices and the undersides of boulders.
This page covers the smaller and less often photographed cowries. The ones divers see most, such as the Tiger Cowrie, have their own pages.
Mapping where Cowrie is logged…
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Triton Shell
2,297 sites
