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The Atlantic Yellow Cowrie (Erosaria acicularis)
Taxonomic Information Class GASTROPODA ORTHOGASTROPODA Order CAENOGASTROPODA - SORBEOCONCHA - HYPSOGASTROPODA - LITTORINIMORPHA SuperFamily CYPRAEOIDEA Family CYPRAEIDAE EROSARIINAE
Phylum / Division Class Order Family Genus SpeciesMollusca Gastropoda Caenogastropoda Cypraeidae Erosaria acicularis
Physical Description, also called:Erosaria acicularis
Maximum reported size: 31 mm. The shell is cream-colored with a white base. Merging orange-brown dots overlay the dorsal area. The area towards the periphery of the shell is flushed with light purple, with some darker spots of similar color. There is a line of orange to brown spots corresponding with a series of small depressions closer to the edge. The shell has between 16 and 20 teeth on the outer lip and 11 to 15 on the inner lip. Latitude / Longitude
35.001°N to 23°S; 97.22°W to 5.7°W Depth
0 - 81 m
The Atlantic yellow cowrie is found throughout many parts of the worlds oceans. Atlantic Yellow Cowrie is especially prominent in regions around the coast of Africa and also on the eastern coast of Brasil and South America.
The Atlantic Yellow Cowrie lives in shallow muddy water not far from shorelines, and it is relatively abundant in areas such as these. They can also be found within forests of underwater plants in shallow, somewhat murky water. The cowrie is usually found attached to a smooth type of rock which it rests for a short or long period of time depending on if the cowrie was disturbed or did not function well in that habitat.
Atlantic Yellow Cowries are not generally rare throughout the world, and there are hundreds of millions living today. They are common along the African coast and also around Japan, Singapore, and down into south east Asia.
These creatures are very unique because of some of the behaviors which they express. These small animals are somewhat territorial, and they tend to try and stay out of the close vicinity of others.
These organisms reproduce asexually and reproduce approximately once every 2 weeks. This is a medium birthrate based on their lifespans which range from 1-2 years normally.
Atlantic Yellow Cowries live on a diet consisting mostly of underwater plant leaves and grasses on the sea floor.
More Information and Interesting Facts:
Atlantic Yellow Cowries were used as a currency in Africa (Ghanaian cedi in Ghana named after Atlantic Yellow Cowries shells) and elsewhere, such as in China and India where the shell or copies of the shell were in theory used as a means of exchange. They are also worn as jewelry or otherwise used as ornaments or charms, as they are viewed as symbols of womanhood, fertility, birth and wealth.
Atlantic Yellow Cowry shells are sometimes used in a way similar to dice, e.g., in board games like Pachisi, or in divination (cf. Ifá and the annual customs of Dahomey). A number of shells (6 or 7 in Pachisi) are thrown, with those landing aperture upwards indicating the actual number rolled.
Large Atlantic Yellow cowries have also been used in the recent past as a frame over which sock heels were stretched for darning. The cowry's smooth surface allows the needle to be positioned under the cloth more easily.
The Ojibway aboriginal people in North America used the Atlantic Yellow cowry shells (which they called sacred Megis Shells or whiteshells) in Midewiwin ceremonies, and the Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada is named after this type of shell. There is some debate about how they traded for or found these shells so far inland, away from the natural sources. Oral stories and birch bark scrolls seem to indicate that they were found in the ground, and/or washed up on the shores of lakes or rivers. The cowry shells so far inland may indicate the use of them by an earlier tribe or group in the area, and an extensive trade network in the ancient past. Petroforms in the Whiteshell Provincial Park may be as old as 8,000 years, and there are questions about how long the shells were used in that area as well.
On the Fiji Islands, the golden Atlantic Yellow Cowrys were worn by chieftans as a badge of rank
The shells of Atlantic Yellow Cowries are almost always smooth and shiny (a few have granular shells) and more or less egg-shaped, with a long, narrow, slit-like opening (aperture).
All have a porcelain-like shine and many have colorful patterns. Lengths range from 5 mm (1/5") for some up to 15 cm (6").
