The Family Cypraeidae Gastropoda Cypraeoidea) an unexpected case of neglected animals

The family Cypraeidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Gastropoda Cypraeoidea), commonly called Cowries, are particularly well-known among shell collectors, because of their beauty and relative availability. While most species are common in shallow reef environments, some other are quite hard to find, because they may come from remote or hardly accessible habitats, or they are in fact just rarely found. Because of this rarity and beauty, several cowries get high market values among collectable shells. This relevant economic interest produced two kind of outcomes: a proliferation of taxonomic complexity, and a very detailed knowledge of every variation of a given species, making cowries collection one of the most specialized ones. Notwithstanding this, it is quite remarkable that cowries had attracted very little interest by biologists and professional malacologists. Few scientific studies are available to date. This review attempts to overview some of the major biological highlights of the Family, to promote future researches in this diverse group of gastropods.