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''Monetaria moneta'', common name the money cowry, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.〔(WoRMS : Monetaria moneta ); accessed : October 20, 2010〕 This species is called "money cowry" because the shells were historically widely used in many Pacific and Indian Ocean countries as shell money before coinage was in common usage. == Description and characteristics == It is a quite small porcelain (3 cm max), irregular and flattened, with very calloused edges and roughly subhexagonal. The color is pale (from white to dirty beige), but the dorsum seems transparent, often greenish grey with yellowish margins, with sometimes darker transverse strips and a fine yellow ring. The opening is wide and white, with pronounced denticules. The mantle of the live animal is mottled with black and dirty white. Image:Cypraea moneta mantle expansion 3.jpg|The underside of a live ''Monetaria moneta'' with the mantle partially retracted Image:Cypraea moneta mantle expansion.jpg|Same specimen, with mantle withdrawn Image:Cypraeamoneta.jpg|Shell 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Monetaria moneta」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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