Similar Species
Trivia monacha is sometimes confused with Trivia arctica. In fact they were considered to be two forms of the same species until 1925, when A. J. Peile published a paper in the Proceedings of the Malacological Society differentiating the two. They can be differentiated by the radula, the shape of the penis and their larval stages. In Trivia monacha the penis is filiform and cylindrical, while in Trivia arctica the penis is large and flat.
It is now known that the larvae of the two species are readily distinguishable.
The Linnaean name Trivia europea, now lapsed, referred to the supposed single species. Linnaeus himself mentioned two kinds: Cypraea europea and Cypraea anglica, but these terms were intended as a geographical distinction and are not accepted as species names today.
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