Erronea adusta, common name the chocolate beauty or tanned/dark onyx cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. This species was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the onyx cowry (Erronea onyx).

Description

The shells of these cowries reach on average 23–58 millimetres (0.91–2.28 in) in length. The dorsum surface of Erronea adusta is smooth, shiny and generally dark brown. The base is also dark brown, usually with orange teeth. The interior of the shell is pale purple.

A shell of Erronea adusta succinta from Zanzibar, ventral view, anterior end towards the left

Distribution

This species occurs in the Indian Ocean along East Africa (mainly Kenya, Mascarene, Mauritius and Tanzania).

Habitat

In shallow subtidal water, Erronea adusta lives in the tropical and subtropical zones.

  • 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.
  • Burgess, C.M. (1970). The Living Cowries. A. S. Barnes and Co, Ltd. Cranbury, New Jersey

External links