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Ovulidae, common names the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries,
is a family of small to large predatory or parasitic sea snails,
marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cypraeoidea, the
cowries and cowry allies. The ovulids are a widespread family,
occurring mostly in tropical and subtropical waters, with most
species in the Indo-West Pacific region. But a few species live in
temperate waters. Ovulids are carnivorous molluscs that feed on
polyps and tissues of Anthozoa (as do the genera Cyphoma and
Pseudocyphoma). They live on, and eat, soft corals and sea fans,
and they are usually regarded as ectoparasites of these sessile
colonial organisms, to which they are anchored by a long and narrow
foot.
