#4741 · 🐌 snails, slugs & other molluscs

Northern Cowrie

🇳🇱 Ongevlekt koffieboontje ·Trivia arctica

🐌 Snails, slugs & other molluscs 📍 in the Netherlands

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Asbjørn Hansen · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
2. © Julien Tchilinguirian · CC BY 4.0
3. © Pablo Torres Luaces · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
4. © JH · CC BY 4.0
5. Inner Lees Wreck:© Libby Keatley · CC BY 4.0
6. Newquay:© Daniel Rodrigues · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. Ballycastle, UK:© RFBoland_ · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Falmouth Bay, Falmouth, England, GB:© duckindisguise · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Na h-Eileanan an Iar, UK:© Tim Johnson · CC BY 4.0
10. 85100 Les Sables-d'Olonne, France:© Julien Renoult · CC BY 4.0

what is it?

Trivia arctica , the northern cowrie , is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Triviidae, the trivias. This is a similar species to Trivia monacha and it often occurs in the same areas. The name Trivia means "common" and the word arctica means "of the arctic".

base stats

NL sightings 5iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 841iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 5 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
841 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Richard Pulteney in 1799 (227 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Northern Cowrie
Nederlands: Ongevlekt koffieboontje
scientific name: Trivia arctica
class: Gastropoda
order: Littorinimorpha
family: Triviidae
sightings in NL: 5
sightings in Europe: 719
sightings worldwide: 841
GBIF records in NL: 286
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1799 by Richard Pulteney

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 461776, Wikidata Q3016826, GBIF 5192808, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.