382 BUCCINOID^E. CYPRJEA ; BUCCINTJM. 



Mediterranean. The Cyprcea^ or Cowry, is also remarkable for 

 the brilliancy of its colours, and for the high polish of which it 

 is susceptible. The shells of this genus and its allies are pre- 

 eminently porcellanous ; that is to say, they have much of the 

 half glassy appearance of porcelain when they are polished ; and 



they break with a 

 fracture similar to 

 that of earthen- 

 ware. This results 

 in part from the 

 very small quantity 

 of animal matter 



FIO-. 579.-CYPRJEA. they contain. The 



form of the shell in 



the young Cyprcea is not very unlike that of the Cone ; its edge 

 being thin and sharp ; but it subsequently undergoes a very 

 remarkable change, as already described ( 910) ; and it is then 

 only that the full beauty is acquired by the shell, as it depends 

 on the deposit of the final layer of shelly matter over the whole 

 exterior. The genus Cyprcea, also, is almost restricted to warm 

 climates ; where its species are very abundant. - The Cyprcea 

 moneta, or Money Cowry, is the current coin of the natives of 

 Siam, Bengal, and many parts of Africa ; it is collected in the 

 latter by the negro women, and is sent thence to distant countries. 

 In Bengal, 3200 of these shells are reckoned to be equivalent to 

 a rupee, or about two shillings of English money. In the 

 Friendly Islands, permission to wear the Cyproea aurantia, or 

 Orange Cowrie, as an ornament, is only granted to persons of 

 the highest rank. The Cypr&a aurora, which is considered the 

 most rare species of the entire genus, is suspended by the New 

 Zealanders to their dress as an ornament. Nearly allied to the 

 Cone and Cyprsea, are the Ovula^ Oliva, and many other genera. 

 923. The Buccinum and its allies have the columella some- 

 what prolonged, and exhibit a considerable notch or furrow for 

 the siphon, which is bent towards the left. The genus Buccinum 

 probably contains the largest number of species, and these the 

 most universally diffused, of any Pectinibranchiate Gastero- 



