The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Cowry

COWRY, a mollusk of the genus Cypræa, a gastropod, comprising nearly 200 species with beautifully colored shells. The cowries are mostly confined to the tropics, especially of the Old World, none occurring on the coast of South America. They live in reefs and under rocks at low water and feed on various polyps. The money cowry is Cypræa moneta. See Wampum.