Author: richkent88

Species: Phyllonotus globosus (Emmons, 1858)

Size: 82mm

Remarks: This is a GORGEOUS, rare specimen excavated in Sarasota, FL. It dates from the Pliocene and more specifically from the Piacenzian Age, around 3.6-2.588 million years ago. In the ancient sea that covered Florida, this species would have lived on open sand areas and among turtle grass. This is a beautifully preserved specimen, and a must have for the serious fossil collector. Incredibly, this species still lives on to this day and can now be found in Venezuela. I have to say though, this fossil is honestly much more ornate than the vast majority of live taken globosus specimens I have seen. Better spines, better detail…an all around amazing fossil!

(descriptive text that came with fossil – donated by Richard Kent)

Cypraea achatidea Sowerby, 1837 Trawled by fishing boats 50m, mud and sandy bottom, Dakar harbor, Senegal 2006
Cypraea achatidea Sowerby,1837 – the Agate Cowry – is a seldom seen attractive mid sized cowry.  It is usually trawled in moderately deep water. Its scarcity in collections is due to its range which goes from the western Mediterranean down along the cost of Africa.  Mediterranean specimens are almost impossible to attain. Most offered come from Senegal.
The shell is pyriform, light in weight with fine indistinct teeth on a whitish base.  The dorsum is banded in immature specimens but this gets covered over in adults and is hardly visible. The adult dorsum is cream, freckled and mottled with brown. The shell is quite consistent in color and size with the main variation being the degree and intensity of mottling. The size is typically around 35mm.
Scientists placed Cypraea achatidea in the genus Schilderia. It is the one and only species.  The African specimens are named Cypraea achatidea longingua Sch & Sch 1938 however many dealers prefer the name Cypraea achatidea inopinata Sch 1930.
This specimen is donated by Richard Kent and was acquired from an Italian dealer who specializes in cypraea.

The Queen Mitre  – Vexillum regina, Sowerby I, 1825 – 3 varieties

The Queen Mitre is cursed! This beautiful shell is elegantly shaped with a tall spire, sculptured with axial ribs and valleys, and circled with bands of multiple colors. Adult size ranges from 50 to 70mm. Unfortunately the Queen Mitre has a big problem. No one is quite sure what the proper name should be. It was always known as Vexillum regina, Sowerby I, 1825. Then the scientists decided that name was a nomen nudum and the proper name should be Vexillum citrinum, Gmelin 1791. Along came Cate in 1961 who christened the Phillipine shells, Vexillum filliaregina, the Colorful Queen.  Add to this confusion is Vexillium taeniatum, Lamark 1811 which may or may not be the same shell depending on who’s describing it. To make matters even worse, all Vexillum are no longer Mitres, the scientists moved the shells out of the Mitridae and into Costellaridae.

The shells in our raffle represent three of the variations on the market. Even novice collectors will have no problem distinguishing one from the other. Each variety is restricted in locale. Our identification is arbitrary. Even though Vexillum regina is again recognized as valid, there is no consensus as to which shell is which or whether they    share the same name or not.

Specimen #1. Vexillum citrinum, Gmelin 1791 is found only in Madagascar and rarely the African coast. Its colors are earth tones. It has the most sharply chiseled sculpture of the three. Extra large specimens are quite narrow.

Specimen #2. Vexillum filliaregina, Cate 1961 is the colorful orange, white and black variety found in the Philippines. It is quite variable in color but not shape.

Monetaria caputdraconis (Melvill, 1888) – Dragon’s Head Cowrie, Easter Island

Lambis crocata, Linnaeus, 1758 – Orange Spider Conch

Cypraea caputserpentis Linne, 1758 – Snake-Head Cowrie. This is one of the commonest yet most beautiful of the Cypraea. It also has the distinction of not varying in its pattern like many other Cowries.
Cypraea helvola Linne, 1758 – The Honey Cowrie. Another common Cowrie, but one that never fails to impress.
Cypraea moneta Linne, 1758 – The Money Cowrie. This is one of the most variable of the genus, even within one location. And, as its name implies, it has been used in many countries as a monetary unit
Cypraea annulus Linne, 1758 – The Gold- Ringer Cowrie. Although this Cypraea can vary in form the gold “ring” is a consistent feature.
Now, you may ask why we have so many Cowries this month….it’s simple. They are all self-collected and donated by our President, Sonny Ogden. In 1967 when she was stationed with her husband at the Navy Base on Kwajalein Island in the Pacific, she collected these from the lagoon in about 20 – 30 feet of water on a rubble bottom. So you see, these are “no ordinary Cowries”!

Calpurnus verrucosus (Linnaeus, 1758) 3-5m deep in soft corals and sponges Off Olango Island, Cebu, Philippines

For the June Shell of the Month we offer a set of 12 Calpurnus verrucosus (Linnaeus, 1758). All are high quality specimen shells which may either be used for comparison study or for shell craft.
Calpurnus verrucosus is a member of the family Ovulidae. It is a large family of diverse sizes and shapes. They have in common being white, pinkish or even approaching red, having a smooth often glossy surface, and a long narrow aperture. All members come from warm tropical waters, especially the Pacific. Calpurnus
verrucosus looks like an albino Cypraea with pink tips. In fact, its common name is little egg cowry or warty cowry. The warty is due to the umbilical button near each terminal. All Ovulidae are carnivorous and live on soft corals. In contrast to the solid color shells, the animal is often quite colorful. This one is white with orange leopard spots outlined in black.
The set was donated by Richard Kent. Our thanks also to Alice Lustig for her donation to the Raffle Table at the May meeting.