Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
Cypraeoidea, the cowries and cowry allies, is a superfamily of sea snails, marine gastropods included in the clade Littorinimorpha. This superfamily had been called Cypraeacea and was named by Rafinesque in 1815. [1]
The very narrow toothed aperture of the cowry shell makes the adult shells difficult for many predators to reach into. However cowries are still vulnerable to predation: [2] Some tropical crustaceans can break the dorsum of a cowry shell. Some mollusc-eating cones, such as Conus textile, can inject venom into the cowry's flesh. The cone then ...
Five views of a shell of Cypraea tigris: Scientific classification ... Cypraea is a genus of medium-sized to large sea snails or cowries, marine gastropod mollusks in ...
A Micronesian navigational chart from the Marshall Islands, made of wood, sennit fiber and cowrie shells. Stick chart in Überseemuseum Bremen.. Stick charts were made and used by the Marshallese to navigate the Pacific Ocean by canoe off the coast of the Marshall Islands.
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.
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. 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 dorsal side is ...
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.