SHELL OF THE MONTH – OCTOBER 2016

Conus amadis castaneofasciata Dautzenberg, 1937 is an attractive and highly desirable subspecies of Conus amadis Gmelin, 1791, One could easily say it is its own species as it is collected off the coast of Myanmar and Southern Thailand while Conus amadis is found in India. The differences are many, Conus amadis castaneofasciata has a higher gloss, a taller spire, lighter in weight, more erratic tenting, different coloration, and pronounced banding.
Conus amadis is a mid-sized cone typically about 75mm though they do come much larger. Evidently they grow in rapid spurts, then rest, as virtually all specimens have pronounced growth lines.
Conus amadis castaneofasciata is quite variable. Deep water populations have very tall spires, some populations are al golden in color while another is chocolate brown with minimal tenting.
This specimen, donated by Richard Kent, was trawled off the Andaman Islands in Myanmar.