Beautiful shells. Cypreya

Tiger cypreya or cypraea tigris – gastropod from the genus Cyprea. It lives both in shallow areas of coral reefs and is found at depths of more than 30 meters. Cypreya is not dangerous to humans. Tiger Cowries are carnivorous and eat sponges and soft corals. They feed at night. She mainly leads night look life, and during the day it hides under corals or stones. When emerging from its shell, the mollusk completely envelops it, which prevents growths of algae and other organisms from gaining a foothold on its surface, unlike many other mollusks that do not have this. Thanks to this, the surface of the sink is always perfectly polished and pleases the eye with its unique pattern. Unfortunately, this was the reason that people have used cypre shells for their own purposes since ancient times. Decorations, souvenirs, dishes - to this day are made from the shells of these mollusks in many countries, sometimes in construction, where there are many of them, they are used as lime.
3500 years ago in China, cyprian shells began to be used as money. Later this currency came to Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, and the Philippines. In XII -XIV centuries in Rus' this money was also in circulation, as well as freshwater pearls, which was exchanged in buckets.
When diving in Bali, be sure to ask your guide to show you the cypraea tigris. Believe me, in its habitat this delightful mollusk is many times more beautiful than its shell on the shelf of a souvenir store.
On Hawaiian Islands indigenous people used tiger cypreya as bait when catching octopuses, and also as a valuable food product. Their shells were used to make scrapers for stripping tree bark and scraping out coconuts.
In pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg, in many wealthy houses, it was fashionable to use the shells of this mollusk as a knob for a door handle.
Decorative carving of tiger cyprea shell is still very popular today.
Tiger cyprian shells are one of the most common souvenirs brought by vacationers both from resorts Black Sea coast, and from port cities of the Mediterranean and East Africa.The shells of this mollusk are often decorated artistic carving- the most popular are carved figures. Cypra shells were used to decorate ritual masks and necklaces of the peoples of Africa, and they were used to inlay weapons and shields. animals, zodiac signs, or inscriptions indicating the name of resort towns.
Incredibly beautiful egg-shaped Tiger Cowrie shell. The surface of the shell is smooth and glossy. The background color is light beige with brown or blackish round spots. The aperture is narrow with denticles along the edges. Cypriae tigris mollusks are popular for decorating aquariums. Tiger Cypri shells are often used for collecting and for interior decoration purposes. These shells used to be used to make door handles. Their inner layer is a very beautiful purple hue and therefore Cyprea Tigris shells are often used for carving and creating cameo decorations for court ladies and rich beauties. In Tanzania, these shells are used for witchcraft. In Europe, there is a custom of giving Tiger Cowrie shells engraved with a cross to daughters as a wedding gift; they are believed to be an amulet against infertility.
In Azerbaijan, cowries were also used as money. In Rus', during the so-called coinless period, cowries also served as money and were called “zhovok”, “millstones”, “snake heads”. In Siberia they retained the functions of money. Cowrie shells are often found during excavations in the Novgorod and Pskov lands in burials. They were found during excavations of prehistoric settlements near Ghent, in the Gallo-Roman necropolises of Monterosato, in Pompeii, in the Vinnitsa region, near the village of Kosanovo, in the burials of the so-called Chernyakhov culture (II-V centuries AD). These beauties - Tiger cypres and cones
You can often see them in abundance in the paintings of the Dutch, Germans, and are used by all Europeans. The shells of this mollusk were used by humans by all Europeans in ancient times. Tibetans make medicine from the shells by burning the cowrie shell, and with this ashes they treat purulent wounds, sprinkling them with the ashes of the shell, and then washing them with a decoction of saffron.

* Ast Balthasar Still life with Nautilus and small shells. In some countries, a huge number of shells of this mollusk are burned into lime

Reviews

Interesting and educational story, Olga! Probably, in general, all shells are very beautiful. But how many creatures have man destroyed for the sake of jewelry, fur, different substances, and sometimes just out of hunting interest...
With warmth and the most good wishes, Alexander.

Thank you for your feedback, Sasha! That’s for sure! Man leaves behind a desert... A huge number of shells were destroyed in order to obtain the purple dye - this is murex...
Of course, all shells are beautiful. Olga

Description

Sink sizes 42-153 mm. The shell is large, involute, spherical-oval in shape. The general color is variable. The dorsal surface is white with dark brown or black spots, the size and location of which varies. Sink base white, has pronounced teeth on the outer lip, as well as short teeth on the columella.

The mollusk's mantle consists of translucent black and gray areas, mottled with the thinnest stripes, with thick, weakly branched, white-tipped papillae.

Area

Tropical Indo-Pacific region. From Australia to the Philippines, further along east coast Africa, including waters near Madagascar.

Biology of the species

Human use

The shells of this mollusk have been used by humans since ancient times. They were found during excavations of prehistoric settlements near Ghent, in the Gallo-Roman necropolises of Monterosato, in Pompeii, in the Vinnitsa region, near the village of Kosanovo, in the burials of the so-called Chernyakhov culture (II-V centuries AD).

In the Hawaiian Islands, the indigenous population used tiger cypreya as bait when catching octopuses, and also as a valuable food product. Their shells were used to make scrapers for stripping tree bark and scraping out coconuts.

In some countries, a huge number of shells of this mollusk are burned into lime.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing Tiger Cyprus

“I can’t express, princess, how happy I am that I came here by chance and will be able to show you my readiness,” said Rostov, getting up. “Please go, and I answer you with my honor that not a single person will dare to make trouble for you, if you only allow me to escort you,” and, bowing respectfully, as they bow to ladies of royal blood, he headed to the door.
By the respectful tone of his tone, Rostov seemed to show that, despite the fact that he would consider his acquaintance with her a blessing, he did not want to take advantage of the opportunity of her misfortune to get closer to her.
Princess Marya understood and appreciated this tone.
“I am very, very grateful to you,” the princess told him in French, “but I hope that all this was just a misunderstanding and that no one is to blame for it.” “The princess suddenly began to cry. “Excuse me,” she said.
Rostov, frowning, bowed deeply again and left the room.

- Well, honey? No, brother, my pink beauty, and their name is Dunyasha... - But, looking at Rostov’s face, Ilyin fell silent. He saw that his hero and commander was in a completely different way of thinking.
Rostov looked back angrily at Ilyin and, without answering him, quickly walked towards the village.
“I’ll show them, I’ll give them a hard time, the robbers!” - he said to himself.
Alpatych, at a swimming pace, so as not to run, barely caught up with Rostov at a trot.
– What decision did you decide to make? - he said, catching up with him.
Rostov stopped and, clenching his fists, suddenly moved menacingly towards Alpatych.
- Solution? What's the solution? Old bastard! - he shouted at him. -What were you watching? A? Men are rebelling, but you can’t cope? You yourself are a traitor. I know you, I’ll skin you all... - And, as if afraid to waste his reserve of ardor in vain, he left Alpatych and quickly walked forward. Alpatych, suppressing the feeling of insult, kept up with Rostov at a floating pace and continued to communicate his thoughts to him. He said that the men were stubborn, that at the moment it was unwise to oppose them without having a military command, that it would not be better to send for a command first.
“I’ll give them a military command... I’ll fight them,” Nikolai said senselessly, suffocating from unreasonable animal anger and the need to vent this anger. Not realizing what he would do, unconsciously, with a quick, decisive step, he moved towards the crowd. And the closer he moved to her, the more Alpatych felt that his unreasonable act could produce good results. The men of the crowd felt the same, looking at his fast and firm gait and decisive, frowning face.
After the hussars entered the village and Rostov went to the princess, there was confusion and discord in the crowd. Some men began to say that these newcomers were Russians and how they would not be offended by the fact that they did not let the young lady out. Drone was of the same opinion; but as soon as he expressed it, Karp and other men attacked the former headman.
– How many years have you been eating the world? - Karp shouted at him. - It’s all the same to you! You dig up the little jar, take it away, do you want to destroy our houses or not?
- It was said that there should be order, no one should leave the house, so as not to take out any blue gunpowder - that’s all it is! - shouted another.
“There was a line for your son, and you probably regretted your hunger,” the little old man suddenly spoke quickly, attacking Dron, “and you shaved my Vanka.” Eh, we're going to die!
- Then we’ll die!
“I am not a refuser from the world,” said Dron.
- He’s not a refusenik, he’s grown a belly!..
Two long men had their say. As soon as Rostov, accompanied by Ilyin, Lavrushka and Alpatych, approached the crowd, Karp, putting his fingers behind his sash, slightly smiling, came forward. The drone, on the contrary, entered the back rows, and the crowd moved closer together.
- Hey! Who is your headman here? - Rostov shouted, quickly approaching the crowd.
- The headman then? What do you need?.. – asked Karp. But before he could finish speaking, his hat flew off and his head snapped to the side from a strong blow.

Was found during excavations prehistoric

pit settlements near Ghent,in the Gallo-Roman necropolises of Monterosato,

in Pompeii, in the Vinnitsa region, near the village of Kosanovo,in the burials of the so-called Chernyakhov culture (V-II centuries BC)

And in some European countries The custom of giving daughters Tsipreyu a tigris at a wedding has survived to this day.with a cross engraved on it, as an amulet against infertility. The gift is accompanied by wishes that the daughters and their husbands gave their parents many grandchildren.And another guess dawned after one of the visitorsour home museum, hydrobiologist from Kyiv A.P. Cossack, I recognized the same Tigris in the Tsiprey sink what was a mandatory attribute of Moldovan gypsies. They called it geok, put it to their ear,supposedly listening to what is coming from the sink, and on this basis, they predicted the fate of everyone. Of course, if you consider that, according to the statementexperts in information theory,white noise (for example, the sound of the sea;it also includes sounds coming fromfrom the mouth of the shell) contains all the information existing in our Universe, thenThe gypsies clearly had plenty to choose from in their predictions!...

But, seriously, then maybe this is the answer to one of the reasons why our ancestors carried these exotic Cyprus to all corners of the then civilized world?...tigris is found everywhereshallow waters of the Indian and western partsPacific Ocean. In the Red Sea it is so common,that in some places a huge number of their shells are burned into lime...On the other hand, I was told that in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg it was fashionable in many wealthy houses Cyprea tigris use as a door handle knob. And one of thethe most common souvenirs and then,and now (I saw this with my own eyes in Naples) in the port cities of the Mediterranean and East Africa they serve Cyprea tigris shells with a pattern carved on top(some kind of palm tree, for example) and the inscription(eg Greetings from Naples) ...

... Hawaiians are good at discerning different types cyprey. Such large species as Mauricia mauritian (leho-ahi) and(leho-kiko) were used as bait when catching octopuses and, by the way, were eaten themselves. They were also used to make scrapersfor peeling the bark when making the local, very widely used dish taro and scraping coconut... "

From the book of Burukovsky R.N.

“What are the shells singing about”, 1977 ...

The most common shell in souvenirs "...Often shells

have an atypical coloring, which is not a deviation or rarity. The shells of this species vary greatly in size, shape and color, hence the huge number of synonyms. On sale, the same species is described for speculative purposes by little-known synonyms or incomprehensible forms - “golden”, “leopard”, “non-ridged”, “jaguar”, for example Cypraea tigris camelopardis or Cypraea tigris aurantius, or synonyms - Cypraea feminea (Gmelin, J.F., 1791), Cypraea nigrescens (Gray, J.E., 1824), Cypraea fuscoapicata (Coen, G.S., 1949)

Basically, all synonyms for the name of the mollusk appeared precisely because of the enormous variability in the color and size of the shell. But after the development of genetics, everything fell into place and the “new species” described by prominent scientists were not abolished, but remained in memory of the works of remarkable biologists of the past. Souvenirs often contain beautiful lilac large and not very large cyprians - so here they are. These are usually tigrises, or the widespread captudserpentis, with stripped, cut and polished top layer ... In principle, there are no purple or lilac cypres :) “Golden” cypres are often ordinary shells heated in the oven at 150-200 degrees, after heat treatment acquiring a beautiful “golden color” :) and sold to naive comrades as a “rare variety” or “ the new kind

":) There are “golden” specimens in nature - they are truly rare. But even an experienced collector will not be able to distinguish a fake from a real shell. Here - either catch it yourself.. or take the word of very large authorities...”