Spawning and larval development of two tropical cowries (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae), and under laboratory conditions.

The spawning and larval culture of cowrie (family Cypraeidae) are both difficult and little known, in part due to the long planktonic period of most species. In this study, we describe the captive spawning behaviour and larval development of two tropical cowrie species, and . Both species brooded over their egg masses before hatching occurred and larvae were collected for culture under laboratory conditions. The brooding period for was between 7 and 17 days, and freshly hatched veligers were approximately 200-240 µm in size. larvae were reared for up to 37 days in culture but did not achieve successful settlement. The brooding period for was between 7 and 10 days, and hatched veligers were approximately 160-205 µm in size. The first settled juvenile was observed at 70 days post-hatch. Our findings from this study represent the first comprehensive documentation of successful metamorphosis of Cypraeidae larvae, particularly , into early-stage juvenile.