Untitled: Trivia monacha: European cowrie: spotted cowrie

The spotted cowrie is a small sea snail which can be found on Devon's rocky shoares. This work by Gosse was probably used as a teaching slide. It shows the snail with its brightly coloured mantle partly covering the pale glossy shell and extending into an orange siphon. The lower drawing shows the detailed structure of the cowrie's radula. This ribbon of repeating 'teeth' is used like a file when feeding.