CYPRAEA COWRY. 71 



the intensity of their colouring decreases as their 

 locality approaches the poles. One species 

 called the Cypraea Moneta* is the current 

 money of Bengal, Siam, and Africa; it is 

 picked up by the negro women of the Indian 

 islands about the full of the moon. This genus, 

 on account of its great beauty, was formerly 

 dedicated to Venus, the fabulous divinity of the 

 island of Cyprus, from which circumstance its 

 name is derived. 



CYPRAEA Arabica* 



NUTMEG COWRY. 



Specific Character. Shell subovate ; colour 

 brownish, or blueish white, inscribed with dark 

 brown markings resembling Arabic characters ; 

 the sides are thickened and spotted with purple ; 

 the teeth are chesnut brown ; the dorsal streak 

 is simple. 



The shell is from two to three inches long, 

 the breadth is nearly three quaVters of its length. 



The young shells of this species are blueish 

 grey, variously clouded or banded with brown ; 

 when the teeth are formed, the back appears of 

 a brownish or dull blue colour ; in this stage 

 of its growth, it has been known by the name 

 of Cypraea Amethystea, or the Smoke Cowry. 

 Linnaeus was not aware of the change in the 



* Plate II. fig. 4. f Plate II. fig. 2. 



