Money cowry

Appearance

It is a quite small porcelain , irregular and flattened, with very calloused edges and roughly subhexagonal. The color is pale , 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.

Naming

Subspecies:
⤷  ''Monetaria moneta barthelemyi'' Bernardi, M., 1861

Forms:
⤷  ''Monetaria moneta'' form ''erosaformis''
⤷  ''Monetaria moneta'' form ''harrisi'' Iredale, T., 1939
⤷  ''Monetaria moneta'' form ''icterina'' Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de, 1810
⤷  ''Monetaria moneta'' form ''rhomboides'' Schilder, F.A. & M. Schilder, 1933
⤷  ''Monetaria moneta'' form ''tuberculosa'' Quoy, J.R.C. & J.P. Gaimard, 1834

Distribution

This is a very common species which is found widely in Indo-Pacific tropical waters. It is present in numerous regions, including East and South Africa, Madagascar, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, eastern Polynesia, Galapagos, Clipperton and Cocos islands off Central America, southern Japan, Midway and Hawaii, and northern New South Wales and Lord Howe Island.

Habitat

This cowry lives in intertidal rocky areas and shallow tide pools among sea weed, coral remains, and empty bivalve shells. It can be found on and under rocks in shallow water and on exposed reefs at low tide. It feeds on algae and marine vegetation growing on loose rocks and pieces of dead coral.

Uses

The shell is used in jewelry and in other decorative items such as baskets and wall hangings.