2<i 



(! nidi to I In Molhtsca. 



The 'Cowries' {('i/praeirfac) arc remarkable lor their varied 

 markings and splendid polish, which is produced and preserved 

 by two flaps of the mantle, one on each side, which fold over the 



Fig 18. 









m 



-, 1 V"'- 



Cypraea leucodon. Case 32. 



shell, a line down the centre of which usually marks where the 

 flaps meet. The animals are even more brilliantly coloured than 

 the shells. Cowries, as is well known, are sold as ornaments ; 

 and a small yellow species, ' the Money-Cowry ' (C. moneta), 

 which is very common in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, passes 

 current as coin among the negro tribes of certain parts of Africa. 



