Annepona mariae (Marie's cowrie)

Described by Franz Schilder who dedicated the specific epiphet to his wife, the “Maria’s Cowrie” is one of the most lovely cowries of all with its unique eye-catching brown fringed yellow spots. An omnivore, it has a very wide range throughout the Indo-Pacific ranging from east Africa to northern Australia to Philippines to Hawaii to French Polynesia. The depth range of this nocturnal cowry is approximately -5~45m. The spotted pattern vary greatly between individuals, usually at least some parts are blurry; it is difficult to find a specimen with all spots having sharp and well-contrasted edges. The average shell length is around 15mm for this rather uncommon species, although very large specimens may reach 20mm. – adapted from Chong Chen’s post