Real Tiger Cowrie – Cypraea tigris (XL)

Description

The tiger cowry was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae, and the species still bears its original name of Cypraea tigris. Its specific epithet tigris relates to its common name “tiger” (the shell however is spotted, not striped). This species is the type species of the genus Cypraea.