No. 6 (1921) COMMON MOLLUSCS OF SOUTH INDL^ 121 



perfect shell. The young shell is elongated, with a prominent 

 conical spire, and a long wide mouth aperture bounded by a thin 

 sharp outer lip. A delicate epidermis covers the surface. As it 

 approaches maturity, the mantle flaps on either side expand and 

 become reflected over the back of the shell, the edges meeting a 

 little to one side. The epidermis becomes absorbed and in its 

 place the inner surface of the mantle lobes deposits a highly 

 polished enamel of variegated colouring upon the shell ; this 

 deposit extends over the spire as well and ends by obliterating and 

 concealing its coils. A line, usually of paler colour, down the back 

 indicates where the mantle lobes meet. Coincident with this, the 

 outer lip turns inwards, thickens and assumes the furrowed appear- 

 ance so characteristic of the lip in adult cowries ; the edge of the 

 columella or inner lip also thickens and assumes a similarly 

 furrowed appearance. In the end the aperture becomes quite 

 narrow, with a well-marked short canal at each end. The mantle 

 and foot are even more vividly coloured than the shell and few 

 objects are more beautiful than a large cowry crawling in a coral 

 reef pool, the mantle bright with scarlet and yellow and beset with 

 gracefully branched filaments. The foot is without an operculum ; 

 though large it can be retracted, together with the great mantle 

 lobes, wholly within the shell. The cowries live on rocky ground 

 particularly in and about coral reefs. They are often found hiding 

 under boulders at low tide and appear limited to shallow water. 



The little yellow Money Cowry (C. ntoiieta) is abundant on the 

 reefs near Pamban, where it attains a larger size than those brought 

 from the Maldive islands ; the Indian variety is distinctl)^ intenser 

 in colouring, being a dark yellow. Even yet it is employed as 

 small change in bazaars in India and enormous quantities are in 

 circulation in West Africa. In India it is esteemed also as an 

 ornament and as an amulet ; the lore of the money cowry in India 

 alone, would fill a bulky volume. 



Another small species common on coral reefs is the Eyed Cowry 

 (C. occUata), the back dotted with tiny greenish spots ringed round 

 with yellow— ocelli. Larger species comprise the Tiger Cowry 

 (C. tigris) covered with large bordered spots, the Black Cowry 

 (C niauritiaiia), a most handsome and elegant form, the Mole 

 Cowry (C. /'7//>rt), the Serpent's head Cowry {C.caput-serpentis),X.\\t 

 Arabian Cowry {C.arabica) and several others less well known. 



In the Ovulidse, only the outer lip is furrowed (crenulated), the 

 columella remaining smooth and rounded. The best known is the 



