A technical article by Enrico Savazzi has just been published, entitled "The colour patterns of cypraeid gastropods" (Lethaia, v. 31, no. 1, 15-27, 1998). According to Savazzi, the color patterns of adult cypraeids (cowries) differ from those of most mollusks by having three-dimensional structure, the result of being generated two-dimensionally. Most mollusks with a color pattern have a one-dimensional "program" for color generation. In other words, most mollusks have color patterns made of unevenly distributed pigment, but cowries have color patterns determined by the different thickness of a pigmented layer. This would account nicely for the subtlety of coloration in cowries. The article is well illustrated with black-and-white photos and describes a computer model of cowry pigmentation. Given that 190 of 200 species of cypraeids are strikingly colored, Savazzi concludes that the patterns must have some functional significance (which may differ from species to species), but, as usual, "More research is needed" to discern the functional patterns behind the color patterns. Lethaia is a paleontological journal that is widely distributed in college libraries. I will send photocopies to the first five emailers who write with their mailing addresses. Please don't ask if you already have access to the journal in a library. Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama