10 



Foreign Cypraea. 



By W. T. Manger. Read May 22nd, 1902. 



It is not my intention to occupy many minutes of your time in 

 the consideration of a subject which is of interest perhaps to but few 

 of our members. Species of the genus of Cyprcea are among the 

 best known of the Molluscs, and form the common mantelpiece 

 ornaments in nearly every household, and they are certainly one of 

 the most beautiful, both in form and coloration. 



The term Cypria, Mr. J. C. Melville (who is a well-known writer 

 on Conchology) says, " is derived from one of the many attributes 

 of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, owing, doubtless, to 

 her worship not only having been inaugurated, but for long years 

 principally centralised, in Cyprus, then a luxuriant island teeming 

 with industrial wealth." The term cowrie, or gowrie, is derived from 

 a Greek word signifying a little pig, and this term cowrie has come 

 to be employed in a general way to designate all Cypra3a. Not only 

 is the shell beautiful, but the animal also. Woodward well describes 

 it as having a broad foot, truncated in front, mantle expanded on 

 each side forming lobes, which meet over the back of the shell. 

 These lobes are usually ornamented with tentacular filaments ; eyes 

 on the middle of the tentacles, or near their base, branchial plume 

 single, lingual ribbon long, partly contained in the visceral cavity. 

 They can contract their bodies entirely within the shell, notwith- 

 standing the narrowness of the aperture. They have no operculum. 

 There are about 200 known species, and about 100 fossil, chiefly 

 in the Tertiary. They are found in all warm seas except, perhaps, 

 the East Coast of South America, but a few stragglers occur in 

 temperate seas (the Mediterranean, etc). 



They are found in shallow water near shore, feeding on Zoophytes, 

 etc. They are used as ornaments by some of the tribes in the Pacific 

 Islands; the Friendly Islander used to wear the orange cowrie (C. 

 aurantiuni) as a mark of chieftainship. I don't know if Mr. Chieftain 

 is aware of the value here of this shell. I see there was a specimen 

 sold the other day at public sale for £^2 ^s. — it is a very rare and 

 beautiful shell. C. annuhts is also worn, whilst C. maiiritiana^ being 

 a large and heavy shell, is very often made use of as sinkers to weight 

 their fishing nets. C. moneta is still used in Africa and some parts 

 of India for barter ; their value seems to vary between 2400 to 

 3200 per rupee. Cowries are represented in this country by C. 

 eufopcea, a small but beautiful shell. Our friend Mr. Step, in his 



