Monetaria moneta
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Monetaria moneta, common name the money cowrie, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
Monetaria moneta 2
Monetaria moneta 01
The underside of a live Monetaria moneta with the mantle partially retracted
Same specimen, with mantle withdrawn
Cowrie
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Cowrie or cowry is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae.
Monetaria moneta
…Monetaria moneta, common name the money cowrie, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. This species is called "money cowrie" because the shells were historically widely used in many Pacific and Indian Ocean countries as shell money before…
Cypraea caputserpentis
Cowrie (Cypraea chinensis) with fully extended mantle
Shells of various species of cowrie; all but one have their anterior ends pointing towards the top of this image.
A 1742 drawing of shells of the money cowrie, Monetaria moneta