Dear Listers,

Thanks to two responders, Randy Bridges and Lyle Therriault, my cowry
from Margarita Island is IDed as Cypraea annulus.

Randy brought up the fact that cowries were used as ship ballast in
former centuries. Having seen that Margarita is the site of some of the
first Spanish settlements in the New World, it's not too much of a
stretch to see how my misplaced cowry is an exotic antique. There are
some worthwhile on-line articles on the subject.

David Kirsh
Durham, NC

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