Home > Invertebrates > Shells > Cowries

Updated 1/3/2026

Family Cypraeidae

Cowries

Cowries' attractive color and shine give them legendary status.  This beauty is possible because the animals' mantle is on the outside, building the shell from the outside and keeping it protected, whereas most other shells are built from the inside, with the oldest outer portion exposed to the elements.  The mantle is usually ornamented with ornate papillae that provide camouflage and assist in respiration, and its color often resembles what it eats.
Cowries graze upon algae or sponge, licking the surface with a rasp-like toothed belt called the radula.  The radula is roughly 15% the shell length, a few milimeters wide, and worn teeth are continuously replaced. 
Females lay a cluster of small egg capsules and will sit upon the mass until they hatch.  If you find a cowry clinging tightly to an egg mass do not disturb it otherwise it may not return to that position.  Veliger larvae hatch and spend some time in the plankton before settlement.
Juveniles look like paper-thin olive shells, coiling as they grow until maturity, when the outer lip curves inward, forms teeth, and the shell thickens with a new adult color pattern.  The height of an adult cowry does not change once this takes place but rather the shell thickens and the interior is dissolved to create more space inside.  Curiously, young cowries stop coiling at random regardless of height, resulting in a broad size range in adults.

Cowries usually remain hidden during the day in holes, dead coral heads, rubble, or under rocks and emerge at night to feed with the mantle fully extended.  Empty but intact shells are usually the result of predation by cone shells.  Octopus bites create a  jagged hole on top, and large crabs, lobster, rays, or emperor fish crush shells into several pieces.
The internal shell layer may have a different color, and this is apparent on shells tumbled by waves.

Hawaii has many endemic cowries, prized by collectors around the world.  Some are rare such as live-collected Ostergaard's cowries worth several thousand dollars.  For unknown reasons, some common Indo-Pacific species are rare locally, and tend to be larger than average.

Proper care must be exercised to avoid ruining cowries.  Never boil, soak in water, use bleach, acid, or leave decaying flesh in contact with the shell.  Keep out of direct sunlight and store in the dark to slow the fading process.  If the gloss is damaged, nothing can be done to restore it aside from brushing with mineral oil for a wet appearance.

 

HAWAII - ENDEMIC

Cribrarula gaskoini  

GASKOIN'S COWRY

 

 Monetaria caputophidii

HAWAIIAN SNAKEHEAD COWRY 

 
Cypraea tigris schilderiana

HAWAIIAN TIGER COWRY 

 

 Lyncina leviathan leviathan

HAWAIIAN LEVIATHAN COWRY 

 
Lyncina sulcidentata

GROOVE-TOOTHED COWRY 

Lyncina aliceae 

ALICE'S COWRY 

 
Luria tessellata 

CHECKERED COWRY 

Talostolida latior

BURGESS' COWRY 

 

Ovatipsa rashleighana

RASHLEIGH'S COWRY 

 

Purpuradusta fimbriata unifasciata

FRINGED COWRY 

 
Naria ostergaardi

OSTERGAARD'S COWRY 

 

 Naria hawaiiensis

HAWAIIAN HONEY COWRY 

 
Staphylaea semiplota

HALF-SWIMMER COWRY 

 

 Staphylaea semiplota var. annae

ANNA'S HALF-SWIMMER COWRY 

 
Nucleolaria granulata

GRANULATED COWRY, juv 

 

 Nucleolaria granulata

GRANULATED COWRY 

 

Nucleolaria granulata x nucleus

GLOSSY GRANULATED COWRY 

 

Nucleolaria nucleus x granulata

FALSE NUCLEAR COWRY 

 
Pustularia mauiensis mauiensis

MAUI'S COWRY 

 

 Pustularia mauiensis wattsi

WATT'S MAUI'S COWRY 

 

Pustularia cicercula takahashii

HAWAIIAN CHICK-PEA COWRY

 

 

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII

Mauritia maculifera maculifera

PACIFIC RETICULATED COWRY

Mauritia mauritiana

HUMPBACK COWRY

 
Luria isabella controversa

ISABELLA COWRY

Lyncina schilderorum

SCHILDER'S COWRY

 
Talostolida pellucens pellucens

ALISON'S COWRY

 

Naria cernica f. marielae

WAXY COWRY

 

Naria beckii

BECK'S COWRY

 Naria poraria

POROUS COWRY

 
Lyncina vitellus polynesiae

CALF COWRY

 

 Lyncina lynx

LYNX COWRY

 
Ovatipsa chinensis amiges

CLEAR CHINESE COWRY

 

 Mauritia scurra indica

JESTER COWRY

 

Monetaria moneta

MONEY COWRY

 

Annepona mariae

MARIA'S COWRY

 

Lyncina carneola propinqua

CARNELIAN COWRY

 

Ipsa childreni

CHILDREN'S COWRY

 
Nucleolaria nucleus

NUCLEAR COWRY

 

 Talparia talpa

MOLE COWRY

 

Staphylaea staphylaea

GRAPE COWRY

(waifs in Hawaii)

 

Staphylaea limacina

SLUG-LIKE COWRY

(waifs in Hawaii)

 
Naria erosa

ERODED COWRY

(waifs & subfossils in Hawaii)

 Naria labrolineata

LINED-LIP COWRY

(waifs in Hawaii)

 
Mauritia arabica

ARABIAN COWRY

(waifs in Hawaii)

 

Erronea errones

ERRONEOUS or WANDERING COWRY

(waifs in Hawaii)

 
   
   
   

    INDO-PACIFIC

    Ovatipsa chinensis chinensis

    CHINESE COWRY

     

    		 Palmadusta asellus

    ASELLUS COWRY

    Staphylaea staphylaea

    GRAPE COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii) 

    Erronea errones

    ERRONEOUS or WANDERING COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii)

     
    Naria erosa

    ERODED COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii)

    		 Naria labrolineata

    LINED-LIP COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii)

     
    Mauritia arabica

    ARABIAN COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii)

     

    		 Arestorides argus

    EYED or ARGUS COWRY

     

    EASTERN PACIFIC

    Pseudozonaria arabicula

    LITTLE ARABIAN COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii)

     

    		 Pseudozonaria robertsi

    ROBERTS' COWRY

    (waifs in Hawaii)
    Neobernaya spadicea

    CHESTNUT COWRY

     

    		  
       
       

    WESTERN ATLANTIC

    Macrocypraea cervus

    ATLANTIC DEER COWRY

     

    		 Macrocypraea zebra

    MEASLED COWRY
    Naria acicularis

    ATLANTIC YELLOW COWRY

     

    		  
       

     

    Family Triviidae

    Trivia Cowries

    Allied cowries are similar in appearance to cowries but differ in larval morphology and diet, feeding upon and laying eggs within compound tunicates.  Hawaiian species are tiny, measuring less than 1/4 inch at adulthood, therefore rarely collected alive but frequent in beach drift.  Formerly included within Family Eratoidae.

    INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII 

    Trivirostra scabriuscula

    ROUGH TRIVIA

          		Trivirostra hordacea

    BARLEY GRAIN TRIVIA

    EASTERN PACIFIC

    Pusula californica

    CALIFORNIA TRIVIA

     

    		 Pusula solandri

    SOLANDER'S TRIVIA

Family Eratoidae

Eratoids are similar in appearance to ovulid cowries and very similar in biology to Trivia cowries, feeding upon compound tunicates.  Hawaiian species are tiny, measuring less than 1/4 inch at adulthood, therefore rarely collected alive but frequent in beach drift.

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII 

Eratoena sandwichensis

 

HAWAIIAN ERATO

  		 

 

Family Ovulidae

Egg Cowries & Volvas

Ovulids are similar in appearance to cowries but lack teeth along the aperture.  They live and feed upon soft corals, gorgonians, and black corals.  Their shells are quite drab but the mantle of live animals can be very attractive.

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII

Phenacovolva brevirostris

STOUT VOLVA

 

INDO-PACIFIC

Primovula rosewateri

ROSEWATER'S VOLVA

  		Ovula ovum

EGG COWRY

WESTERN ATLANTIC

Cyphoma gibbosum

FLAMINGO TONGUE

  		Cyphoma gibbosum

FLAMINGO TONGUE
Cyphoma signatum

FINGERPRINT CYPHOMA