I 29 The Cowries. Venus Shells On the back is a brown central area edged with a band of darker brown that follows the outline of the shell. It is not frequently found and is a prize to any collector. The shells are particularly bright and glossy when taken alive. The largest are about two inches long.
The Stag Cowry (C. cervus, Linn.) has an inflated shell lighter in weight than the preceding species and much more roomy. Its aperture is wider in front. Its white spots are close and small and usually blurred into the chestnut ground colour. Length, 2 to 6 inches.
Habitat.— Panama.
The Cowry (C. testudinaria, Linn.), the largest species in the genus, has the colouring and the mottled markings of brown tortoise shell on its back, and a multitude of white specks, like flour, sprinkled over the polished surface. The base shades into brownish flesh colour or pale fawn; the teeth are white. Young shells are obscurely banded with brown on a uniform, paler ground. Length, 4 to 6 inches.
Habitat.— Ceylon.
The Orange Cowry (C. aurantium, Martyn) is an inflated shell of ovate form with back and teeth of uniform colour, bright orange. The sides, extremities and base are white. Length, 3 to 6 inches.
Habitat.— Fiji Islands, Solomon Islands, Loyalty Islands.
Permission to wear an orange cowry as an ornament is a mark of the highest distinction granted among Friendly Islanders. Shells punctured with a hole in the back, occasionally seen in collections, have been worn, and are for this reason considered especially valuable.
For many years collectors had to pay excessive prices for these rare shells. The especial regard in which they were held by natives of the islands prevented their dispersal to other coun tries. An occasional traveller got hold of one for $25. Now perfect ones may be had for $20, says Mr. Campbell in the Nautilus, 1889. Unlike some more abundant species, they are obtained from deep water outside the reefs, which fact in itself should account for their scarcity and high price.
The Map Cowry (C. tnappa, Linn.) is marked lengthwise with a broad zigzag line of pale chestnut from the angles of which side branches go off alternately from left to right, singly 13o The Cowries. Venus Shells or in twos. This band is approximately median, and marks the meeting place of the two lobes of the mantle. The back is covered
with fine waving chestnut lines running lengthwise. These have scattered spots of pale chestnut which become more numerous toward the pale violet-tinged, almost colourless base.
The usual habit among cowries is to reserve the bright pattern and colouring characteristics of the species until just before the shell is full-grown, then to lay it on, covering up the bands and waves of colour that previously alternated with the white layers. In C. mappa there are two final coats of the same pattern laid one upon the other. Length, 2 to 31 inches.
Habitat.— Indian Ocean.
The Spotted Cowry (C. guttata, Gray) is a rare and beautiful species which we are doomed to know only through pictures, unless we visit the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, the British Museum or the Museum of Leyden. A very few specimens exist in private collections in Europe. The price of this shell has reached the highest mark in the genus. In 1866 one sold for £42. Two I know of in this country. One is in the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, the other in the collection of Mr. Richey of Boston.
The base is crossed by close sharp ridges which round the margin, and come up a little way on the sides, giving the shell a crimped border all around. This border forms a recurved flange. The back of the shell is orange-brown with pale spots of vary ing sizes. The cross ridges are bright orange red, giving the base and border a striking colour contrast. Length, 21 inches.
Habitat.— Red Sea, New South Wales.
The Prince Cowry (C. princeps, Gray) was long known only by a solitary specimen in the British Museum. This was a superb shell, thinner than other cowries, very much swollen in the middle, and elevated, sloping steeply to the base on all sides. The yellow ground colour of the back shades into pink, as it descends to the colourless base. A patch of brownish wavy lines like closely written characters occupies the middle of the back. A squarish blotch of darker brown stands on either side of this middle patch. The sides are spotted. The extremities have three concentric brown lines. The base and teeth are white.