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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.
As is the case in most cowries, the subadult shell of Cypraea tigris has a different color pattern. The apex of the shell is a barely visible tubercule at the top right of the shell image Cypraea Tigris. Roughly egg-shaped and dextral, the glossy shell is large and heavy for a cowry. It measures up to 15 cm (6 in) in length, and the upper or ...
Cypraeidae, commonly named the cowries (sg. cowry or cowrie), is a taxonomic family of small to large sea snails. These are marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Cypraeoidea , the cowries and cowry allies.
Cypraea is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails or cowries, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [1] Species.
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.
The largest known fossil cowry was Gisortia gigantiea Munster, 1828 which reached a length of 350mm. The largest modern cowry is the Atlantic Deer Cowry ( Macrocypraea cervus ) at up to 190mm. The largest known cowry from any extant subfamily or genus was the Australian cowry Zoila (Gigantocypraea) gigas (McCoy, 1867) at about 247mm.
The shells of these quite common cowries reach on average 16–19 millimetres (0.63–0.75 in) of length, with a minimum size of 10 millimetres (0.39 in) and a maximum size of 28 millimetres (1.1 in). The surface of the shell is smooth and shiny, the colors usually range from pale brown to dark brown, with numerous small yellowish spots.
The common name Arabian cowry is based on a dense and irregular pattern of thin longitudinal brown lines which are sometimes interrupted by empty spaces, giving an appearance that is considered to be similar to that of Arabic script. Mauritia arabica and its close relative Mauritia eglantina have very similar shells which can be easily confused.