What is "cypraea pantherina"

panther \pan"ther\ (p[a^]n"th[~e]r), n. [OE. pantere, F. panth[`e]re, L. panthera, Gr. pa`nqhr, prob. fr. Skr. pundr[=i]ka a tiger.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) A large dark-colored variety of the leopard, by some zo["o]logists considered a distinct species. It is marked with large ringlike spots, the centers of which are darker than the color of the body.

2. (Zo["o]l.) In America, the name is applied to the puma, or cougar, and sometimes to the jaguar.

   Panther cat (Zo["o]l.), the ocelot.

   Panther cowry (Zo["o]l.), a spotted East Indian cowry ( Cypr[ae]a pantherina); -- so called from its color.

Cypraea pantherina, common name the panther cowry, is a species of large tropical sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.

The panther cowry is one of only two species currently included in the genus Cypraea (the second species is Cypraea tigris, Linnaeus, 1758), as all other species previously belonging to the genus Cypraea have been reassigned to other genera within the family Cypraeidae.

Shells of Cypraea pantherina have been found in tombs in the Rhine valley dated to 6 BCE. Furthermore, shells of this species and the related Cypraea tigris have been unearthed at Pompeii, the ancient Roman city near Naples, Italy, where these shells may have been used as an ornament.