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Monetaria moneta, common name the money cowrie, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [ 1 ] This species is called "money cowrie" because the shells were historically widely used in many Pacific and Indian Ocean countries as shell money before coinage was in common usage.
Cowrie or cowry (pl. cowries) is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae. The term porcelain derives from the old Italian term for the cowrie shell (porcellana) due to their similar appearance. [1] Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures.
The Classical Chinese character radical for "money/currency", 貝, originated as a pictograph of a cowrie shell. [12] Cowrie shell imitation in green bone, China, Western Zhou Dy (1046 BC–771 BC)-Jin State; length: 40.3 mm. Cowries or kaudi were used as means of exchange in India since ancient times up to around 1830.
Monetaria annulus, common name the ring cowrie, ring top cowrie, or gold ring cowrie, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [ 1 ] Description
Melicerona felina, common name the kitten cowrie, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [ 1 ] Description
Neobernaya spadicea, common name the chestnut cowrie, is a species of sea snail in the cowrie family, Cypraeidae. Chestnut cowries can be found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from central California to Baja California. The chestnut cowrie has a highly glossy shell due to an enamel that is secreted from its mantle.
Lyncina carneola, common name the carnelian cowrie, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [ 1 ] Description
Leporicypraea mappa (previously known as Cypraea mappa), common name the map cowry, is a species of large sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. This is considered an economically important species in the Indo-West Pacific , where it is usually collected both for food and for shell trading.