Pascal Kobeh / Mole cowrie (Talparia talpa / Cypraea talpa) with mantle fully extended, Sulu sea, Philippines

Pascal Kobeh / Mole cowry or chocolate banded cowry (Talparia talpa / Cypraea talpa) with its mantle covering it, at night, Sulu Sea, Philippines.

David Fleetham / Two images of the same Alison's Cowrie (Cypraea alisonae) were digitally combined to show the animal in and out of its shell. This species reaches around an inch and a half in length. Hawaii.

David Fleetham / This image shows the Alison Cowrie (Cypraea alisonae) almost completely extruded from its shell. Maui, Hawaii.

David Fleetham / Groove Tooth Cowry (Cypraea suicidentata) one of the more common of the endemic Hawaiian cowries, reaches about an inch and a half in length. Hawaii.

David Fleetham / Mole cowrie (Cypraea talpa) at night. Hawaii.

David Fleetham / Mole cowrie (Cypraea talpa) with mantle partially covering shell at night. Hawaii.

Franco Banfi / Cowry shell (Cypraea tigris) Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sulu Sea, Cagayancillo, Palawan, Philippines

Constantinos Petrinos / Tapering cowrie (Cypraea teres) Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Constantinos Petrinos / Tapering cowrie (Cypraea teres) Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Constantinos Petrinos / Tapering cowrie (Cypraea teres) Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Constantinos Petrinos / Thick-edged cowrie (Cypraea caurica) at night next to Orange Coral Polyps (Tubastrea sp.). Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Deciduous forest and pond in autumn, Bald Mountain Pond, Maine

Yva Momatiuk & John Eastcott / Deciduous forest and pond in autumn, Bald Mountain Pond, Maine