[syn. Cypraea spadicea]Chestnut CowryCypraeidaeRange: Monterey, California, U.S.A. to central Baja, Mexico. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, California
[syn. Cypraea mappa]Map cowryCypraeidaeUndersidewww.flickr.com/photos/dweickhoff/6477942231/in/datetaken-...NOTE: I have not collected live shells since the mid-1970's. I believe that the animal itself is much more valuable alive than destroyed for its shell. It is for this reason that I will now only collect beach/forest shells from deceased specimens.
A Flamingo Tongue, Cyphoma gibbosum, is pictured here riding atop a crumpled blade of Network Alga, Microdictyon marinum. This might be the first time in all of the years I have photographed Caribbean reef life that I have seen a Flamingo Tongue attached to anything other than a soft coral.