Micronesian Gastropods — Demond 
299 
Characteristically 0.75 to 1 inch long. Re- 
sembles N. onca but, unlike that species, its 
umbilicus is rosy or violet and almost entirely 
covers the umbilicus; and the upper rows of 
color spots on its shell are larger than those 
of N. onca, and irregular, sometimes "literate” 
as in variations of Conus ebraeus. 
Lives on sandy lagoon floors at depths of 
90 to 150 feet. Drift specimens found on the 
seaward beaches of Bikini and Rongelap in- 
dicate the species may also live in deep water 
off the seaward reef edge. 
geographic range: There are only 6 speci- 
mens in the USNM, from the northern Mar- 
shalls (Bikini and Rongelap atolls) and from 
Biak, Schouten Islands, Dutch New Guinea. 
N. violacea is rare in collections from Micro- 
nesia and the Indo-Pacific. 
Family O VULID AE — Egg Shells 
Genus Ovula Bruguiere, 1789 
Ovula ovum (Linne, 1758). 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 94, fig. 18; Kira 
(1955) ph 18, fig. 15. 
The shell of 0. ovum is globose and large, 
characteristically 3 to 5 inches long, polished 
white externally and deep orange-brown with- 
in the aperture. Its mantle, in striking con- 
trast to the white shell, is ink black with only 
tiny white flecks. 
This well-known Indo-Pacific species is 
prized by island natives for charms and orna- 
ments but is seldom taken alive by collectors. 
A group of living specimens was found at a 
depth of about 12 feet in a protected embay- 
ment of the seaward reef front at the south 
side of Arno Atoll. The species was rare at 
Ifaluk; only one specimen was taken there, 
at a depth of 3 to 5 feet on the sandy lagoon 
shelf. At Arno, 0. ovum was living on the 
compact surfaces of a dark brown soft coral 
which turns white where bruised; this associa- 
tion appeared to be a protective one for the 
mollusk, due to its dark mantle with white 
spots. However, in the case of the Ifaluk 
specimen of 0. ovum , although it was living 
on a soft coral, that soft coral was presumably 
a different species, being pale in color and 
thus affording no color protection for the 
mollusk. Apparently 0. ovum is nutritionally 
dependent upon these alcyonarians. 
GEOGRAPHIC range: USNM collections are 
from East Africa and Mauritius eastward 
through the Indian and Pacific oceans to the 
Society and Tuamotu islands, and from the 
Ryukyu Islands south to New Guinea and 
New Caledonia. Reportedly abundant in 
northern Australia. Not found in Hawaii. 
Family CYPRAEIDAE— Cowries 
Genus Cypraea Linne, 1758 
Subgenus Cypraea Linne, 1758 
Cypraea ( Cypraea ) carneola Linne, 1758. 
Tinker (1952) p. 142, 3 figs, on p. 143; 
Morris (1952) p. 180, pi. 5, fig. 11. 
Characteristically 1.5 to 2 inches long with 
bright purple teeth and interstices, four dark 
orange dorsal bands, and fawn-colored mar- 
gins. Giant specimens, 2.5 to 3.5 inches long, 
occur in Hawaii. 
Only one specimen in the recent Microne- 
sian collections was taken alive. It was found 
on a small reef in 2 to 4 feet of water on the 
sandy lagoon shelf at Ifaluk. Abbott (1950) 
reports that C. carneola lives under rocks in 
shallow water on the reefs at Cocos-Keeling 
Atoll. In Hawaii, Ostergaard (1950) found 
this species in shallow water on seaward reef 
flats and Ingram (1947) observed giant indi- 
viduals living in the same environment and 
copulating with normal-sized C. carneola. 
Like most cowries C. carneola is presumably 
nocturnal. 
GEOGRAPHIC range: USNM collections are 
from East Africa eastward through the Indian 
and Pacific oceans to the Society and Tua- 
motu islands, and from southern Japan and 
Hawaii south to northern Australia, Fiji, and 
Samoa. A fairly common species in Micro- 
nesia. 
Cypraea ( Cypraea ) lynx Linne, 1758. 
Tinker (1952) p. 148, 3 figs, on p. 149. 
