cowry

Also known as cowrie

thumb|Cowrie (Ovatipsa chinensis|Cypraea chinensis) with fully extended mantle thumb|Shells of various species of cowrie; all but one have their anterior ends pointing towards the top of this image.

Wikidata facts

Image: Cypraea caputserpentis.jpg

Show 1 more fact

Commons category: Cowrie shells

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~9 min read

Article

12 sections

Contents

Etymology
Shell description
Human use
Monetary use
Ritual use
Jewelry
Games and gambling
Other
See also
References
Further reading
External links

thumb|Cowrie (Ovatipsa chinensis|Cypraea chinensis) with fully extended mantle thumb|Shells of various species of cowrie; all but one have their anterior ends pointing towards the top of this image.

Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails in the family Cypraeidae.