๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐, ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ!
Money cowries are tropical sea snails (Monetaria moneta). They have delicate lace-like bodies that are protected by a smooth, hard shell (or โexoskeletonโ).
The material this shell is made of is strong and bright, almost gem-like. As their common name โ โmoney cowriesโ โ tells us, for thousands of years people across the globe used them as a kind of currency.
Many money cowries came from the Maldives, which had a vibrant cowrie industry. This industry was a rare example of a sustainable reef fishery. It didnโt end due to over-fishing, but rather to changes in economic dynamics.
#heritagemonth #kznmuseum #cowries #heritage #seasnails #money #Maldives #MonetariaMoneta) #RรฉunionIsland #PhilippeBourjon
๐ธ A live money cowrie (Monetaria moneta) in Rรฉunion island lagoon photographed by Philippe Bourjon (2015). Source: Wikimedia Commons. License: Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0.
