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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.
The dark-toothed cowrie has a medium-sized shell which may grow to 60mm in total length. The shell is generally smooth and caramel-coloured, flecked with pale blue or mauve, but in live specimens is usually covered with the mantle. [4] Variations in shell colour range from pale blue or mauve to dark chocolate brown.
Muracypraea mus, common name the mouse cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.. This species was once considered to belong to the archaic genus Siphocypraea (which now includes only extinct species).
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. [2]
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.
Juvenile cowry shells are not at all similar to adult cowry shells. The juvenile shells of cowries perhaps more closely resemble the shells of some "bubble snails" in the order Cephalaspidea. Also the shells of juvenile cowries seldom exhibit the same color patterns as the adult shells do, and thus can be hard to identify to species.
The shell of these quite common cowries reaches on average 32–38 millimetres (1.3–1.5 in) in length, with a maximum size of 75 millimetres (3.0 in) and a minimum adult size of 15 millimetres (0.59 in). The dorsum is yellow-ocher or pale brown, with many small white spots. The extremities of the shell show dark brown spots.
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.