Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Cypraea moneta

Pōre‘o Tea (MG)

Money Cowrie

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	One cowrie (Rarotonga)	24KB
Image:	Two cowries (Palmerston)	50KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Money Cowrie

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pōre‘o Tea (MG), Poreo (AT), Pōre‘o (MK MT AK)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Shell necklaces

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
	^^P	^P	^P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Cypraea moneta Linnaeus, 1758
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; MOLLUSCA; GASTROPODA; PROSOBRANCHIA; Mesogastropoda; Cypraeacea; CYPRAEIDAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: Morgan 135-162. Mangaia: specimen Sue Ngatokorua, 9/2000, ID GMcC. Atiu: field-specimen, College collection, 10/2000, ID GMcC. Mauke: field-specimen, College collection, 3/2001, ID GMcC.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List