CYPR^A COWRY. 73 



line ; when the wings are so large that they fold 

 one over the other, their place of junction is not 

 marked. The external polish of these shells is 

 owing to their being covered continually by the 

 mantle. The animals inhabiting the Cyprsea, 

 have a fleshy foot with which they crawl, similar 

 to that of the snail ; the head is placed on a 

 neck, and has two finely pointed tentacula, with 

 two eyes situated at their base : the mouth is a 

 round opening armed with teeth, which act not 

 only as organs of nutrition, but as defensive 

 weapons. The mantle in front forms a kind of 

 tube, which is lodged in the notch of the shell ; 

 through this the mollusca imbibes water. In a 

 state of rest the Cypraese remain buried under 

 the sea at some distance from the shore, but it is 

 said that at full of the moon they quit this retreat 

 and traverse the rocks. They belong principally 

 to the seas of hot climates ; a few species are 

 met with in temperate regions, but these possess 

 not the beauty of colouring displayed by their 

 congeners.* It may generally be observed with 

 regard to shells, that the intensity of their co- 

 louring decreases as their locality approaches 

 the poles. One species called the Cypra^a Mo- 

 neta,| 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 divi- 



* Congener one of the same genus, from Latin con, together, 

 and gen us. 

 t Plate II. fig. 4. 



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