These 3 photos show C. castanea latebrosa (34mm) on the left
and Cypraea iutsui iutsui (33mm) on the right.
Click on any one of these photos to see a
larger picture !! |
South Africa has a small number of rare deep-water Cypraea shells.
These are:
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| cruickshanki |
castanea latebrosa |
broderipii |
| iutsui iutsui |
castanea castanea |
connelli |
| iutsui atlantica |
barclayi |
lisetae |
| iutsui levissima |
fultoni fultoni |
immelmani |
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The subject of this short article is a comparison between Cypraea castanea latebrosa and Cypraea iutsui iutsui. These shells were trawled off the area between Algoa Bay and Jeffreys Bay, South Africa at a depth of approximately 100m.
The main differences between these 2 species are : the latebrosa is more compact , heavier and has a different colour pattern to the iutsui. The latebrosa has basal teeth which are more yellow. The iutsui has a lighter shell in general, with more produced terminals, easily seen in the above photos.
There is of course the possibility that these 2 species might inter-breed and form hybrids. |
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There follows to the right a photo of the Cypraea castanea castanea, which is the shallow water form of castanea and is dived at 40m deep off Jeffeys Bay. |
(click to view bigger picture) |
