OVULIDAE AND CyPRAEIDAE 147 



Distribution is in warm and temperate seas. The animals prey 

 upon gorgonians to whose stems and branches they adhere very 

 closely. 



Genus CYPHOMA Roding 1798 



Cyphoma mcg-intji-«- Pilsbry PI. 48, figs. 333a, b 



Length, 23.7; width, 11.4 mm. The shell is long and nar- 

 row, with a high median ridge; back cinnamon-buff to ivory-yellow, 

 the marginal callus white or ivory yellow, more definitely limited 

 than in C. gibbosa, with an oblique fold from the inner lip across 

 the front posteriorly, more or less lost in the callous thickening; 

 interior vinaceous with a white median spot; mantle closely spot- 

 ted.-''^ 



These shells are usually found on Gorgonia. They have been 

 taken on the reefs oflF Sanibel Island. 



Genus SI3INIA (Leach) Risso, 1826 

 Simnia uniplicatase* (Sowerby) PI. 28, fig. 205 



Alt., 15-20 mm. Shell tapering at each extremity, smooth, pol- 

 ished; color varies with that of the Gorgonia upon which it preys 

 — yellow or a shade of purplish red; color fades with drying and 

 exposure to light; apex of shell twisted backward over nucleus and 

 extended into a short canal. Lip thickened in adult specimens; one 

 columellar fold near apex. 



Family CYPRAEIDAE 



The mollusks of this family are remarkable for the beauty of 

 color, high polish and the symmetry of form of their shells. Cowries 

 are everywhere considered elegant shells. Specimens of the genus 

 Cypraea are eagerly desired by collectors, and the shells of certain 

 tropical species still serve as units of monetary currency in some 

 parts of the world. 



All species are native to warm seas. 



Worn shells of Cypraea exanthema and C. exanthema cervus 

 are occasionally found upon the beaches of southwest Florida. 



-^- Gr., cyphoma, a hump, hump-backed ; named for Thomas L. McGinty. 

 2B3Xhe Nautilus, vol. 52 (3), page 108. 

 26*Lat., uni, unus, one; plicatus, folded. 



