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PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XI, July, 1957 
Characteristically about two inches long 
with many dorsal brownish spots and with 
bright orange interstices between its white 
teeth. 
Ordinarily found in shallow water, under 
rocks and in tide pools, on seaward and la- 
goon reef flats. Also taken from minor reef 
prominences on sandy lagoon shelves at 
depths of a few feet. 
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 and New 
Caledonia. Ingram (1947) reports C. lynx to 
be extremely rare in Hawaii, but it is fairly 
common in Micronesia. 
Cypraea ( Cypraea ) tigris Linne, 1758. 
Tinker (1952) p. 138, 4 figs, on p. 139; 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 92, fig. 6; 
Kira (1955) pi. 20, figs. 16 and 17. 
Characteristically 4 to 5 inches long; cream 
colored or yellowish-white, with large black 
spots. 
C. tigris apparently lives under a variety of 
ecological conditions, and its size and color 
pattern differ from one geographic area to 
another. Records in the recent Micronesian 
collections indicate that the species most com- 
monly occurs among rocks and in crevices of 
seaward reef flats, and at the seaward reef 
edge, near or a few feet below low tide line. 
Most of the specimens were taken on wind- 
ward ocean reefs, but the species was also 
found on leeward ocean reefs, on lagoon reef 
flats, and on small reefs on lagoon floors. At 
Tanganyika, East Africa, Abbott (1951) ob- 
served a colony of 100 or more C. tigris living 
among eelgrass on a shallow sandy bottom. 
Few of these individuals were more than two 
and one-half inches long, and most of them 
possessed very dark coloring. Abbott also re- 
ports similar groups of small individuals from 
Okinawa, northeast Australia, and Halma- 
hera, Dutch East Indies. In Hawaii, C. tigris 
lives at depths of 6 to 12 feet in offshore ocean 
waters. Specimens of maximum size are found 
in Hawaii, but the species is rare there as 
compared with its occurrences to the south 
and west. 
GEOGRAPHIC range: USNM collections are 
from East Africa eastward through the Indian 
and Pacific oceans to the Society Islands, and 
from the Ryukyu and Hawaiian islands south 
to northern Australia and New Caledonia. 
Reported from southern Japan. Common in 
Micronesia. 
Cypraea ( Cypraea ) vitellus Linne, 1758. 
Hirase and Taki (1951) pi. 92, fig. 4; Tinker 
(1952) p. 142, 3 figs, on p. 143; Kira 
(1955) pi. 20, fig. 7. 
Characteristically about 2.5 to 3 inches long 
with variously sized white spots over its fawn- 
colored dorsum and with thin lines of sand 
colored specks on its margins. 
Apparently lives on rocky surfaces or among 
rocks at depths of not more than a few feet 
on the outer flats of both seaward and lagoon 
reefs. In addition to several beach-worn shells, 
recent Micronesian collections include only 
three specimens that were taken alive; one in 
about three feet of water under rocks on the 
sandy lagoon shelf at Ifaluk, another on the 
seaward reef flat of windward Onotoa, and the 
third under near-shore rocks on the lagoon 
reef at Ine Village, Arno. Abbott (1950) re- 
ports C. vitellus living under boulders on the 
outer barrier reef at Cocos-Keeling Atoll. 
According to Allan (1950) this species is very 
common on rocky seaward reefs below low 
tide line in Australia. 
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 New South Wales, 
Australia, and New Caledonia. Uncommon in 
Micronesia. 
Subgenus Mauritia Troschel, 1863 
Cypraea (Mauritia) arabica Linne, 1758. 
Tinker (1952) p. 140, 3 figs, on p. 141. 
