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Posted: Mar 21 2023

Naria turdus (Lamarck, 1810),  Thrush Cowrie

Naria turdis  Nuch 2 30%.jpg

March 2023:  We now have six Cypraeidae in Florida waters.

Oleinik, Leal, DuPont and Uthairat.  March 2023.  A prediction held true: first record of the non-indigenous Thrush Cowrie Naria turdus (Lamarck, 1810) (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) in South Florida.  The Nautilus. 137(1):31-34.

"The non-indigenous thrush cowrie Naria turdus (Lamarck, 1810), with its natural range in the eastern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, apparently appeared in the greater Caribbean region in 2020.  First records seemingly come from the

island of Aruba where Mr. Leo Ros of the

Aruba Shell Club photographed a living

specimen of N. turdus in July of 2020 (Dekkers

and Ros, 2022)."  "... we can expect Naria turdus

to appear in Florida’s coastal waters in the near

future. That “near future” had arrived on

December 24, 2022, when live N. turdus ... was 

photographed underwater by Nuch Uthairat in

Lake Worth Lagoon ..."  Adjacent photos with

permission of Ms. Uthairat via Anne Dupont.

Dekkers and Ros.  August 2022.  On the Invasion of Naria turdus (Gastropoda, Cypraeidae) in the Dutch Caribbean, with taxonomic notes on the species.  The Festivus. Vol. 54(3).

"The species was first discovered in the Dutch Antilles by the second author in July 2020 in the waters around Aruba. (Figure 1)"

"Usually around 27-32 mm (can reach 40 mm+).  Its shell co9lor pattern includes brown spots on the lighter-colored background of the dorsal shell surface, white, yellowish to greenish.  The form of the shell is more or less oval and broader and more slender examples are regular finds."  "The base is white and the white color is often seen dorsally as band around shell."

Naria turdus Aruba.jpg

I've been monitoring iNaturalis for sightings of N. turdus at locations other than the north end of the Lake Worth Lagoon.  Here they are:

turdus Blowing Rocks.jpg
turdus Manalapan.jpg
turdus Coral Cove.jpg
turdus 4.jpg
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