The Leopard Cowrie

Cypraea pardalis. A shell no larger than your thumb, covered in spots that rival any big cat. The leopard cowrie lives in the Indo-Pacific, hiding in coral crevices during the day, emerging at night to feed.

Its pattern is produced by the mantle — the soft tissue that secretes the shell’s calcium carbonate structure. The spots are laid down in layers over the cowrie’s lifetime, each one a record of growth.