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Panther cowrie

Cypraea pantherina

  • Molluscs
  • IUCN: Not evaluated
  • Water temperature25–30 °C
  • Best monthsFebruary and September
  • How commonRare
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Photo credit: (c) Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Cypraea pantherina, common name the panther cowry, is a species of large tropical sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The panther cowry is one of only two species currently included in the genus Cypraea, as all other species previously belonging to the genus Cypraea have been reassigned to other genera within the family Cypraeidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cypraea pantherina”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 1 records
  • February: 5 records
  • March: 1 records
  • April: 4 records
  • May: 4 records
  • June: 2 records
  • July: 0 records
  • August: 1 records
  • September: 8 records
  • October: 0 records
  • November: 0 records
  • December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C

  • 24–26 °C: 2 records
  • 26–28 °C: 2 records
  • 28–30 °C: 16 records

Names and classification

English
Panther cowrie, panther cowrie
Names in 1 more languages
German
Pantherkauri, Pantherschnecke

Other scientific names: Cypraea (Pantherinaria) pantherina, Cypraea guttata, Cypraea leopardus, Cypraea obtusa, Cypraea pardus, Cypraea tigrina, Cypraea vinosa

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 79 open-data records from 1976 to 1976.
  • Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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