Calpurnus verrucosus (Black-spotted egg cowrie)
Identification
Mantle and foot are white with numerous black (occasionally brown) spots.
Status
Common in tropical waters.
Habitat
Red Sea, East Africa, Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. Living cowries can mainly be encountered in daylight under soft corals, sponges and rocks in shallow to deep waters at a depth of 20-50 meters.
Reproduction
–
Size
Shell grows up to 3,5 cm.
Prey / Predation
They primarily feed on the polyps of Leather Corals (Sacrophyton and Lobophytum species, Alcyoniidae). At night they spread their mantles on the top of the soft coral and start grazing on the polyps.
Special features
Mostly seen during the night, when they feed on top of corals, during the day they hide under corals
