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Homalocantha anatomica Perry, 1811

Not all shells are handsome. Not all shells are graceful. Not all shells look like wha we think a shell should look like.

Homalocantha are Murex found in the tropics waters of the Pacific. They reside in coral heads. We have two varieties of Homalocantha anatomical this month, Homalocantha anatomica zamboi Burch & Burch 1960 and Homalocantha anatomica pele Pilsbry 1918. The first is from the Philippines The second is indigenous to Hawaii. Hawaiaans consider Pele to be full species Authorities disagree.

Both are extremely similar with a dominant body while and large varices that look like webbed feet at the termination of growth. The difference being that Zamboi shoot out varies at the end of each growth cycle and in Pele a knob is formed instead Pele is generally larger. This specimens small to make a a better comparison. Adult size is between 2 and 3 inches.

S second difference is that Zamoi is always white. Pele can have brilliant colors, especially on the body white. Intense reds and yellows sometimes occur. shades of lavender are common. The price for a bright red specimen spirals out of control.

The development of the body sculpture is very consistent from one specimen to the next.. Occasional specimens have additional or missing digits. The difference between the two species is clear in the final phot. Look closely!

Amoria ubdulaata Sowerby 1864 extreme low tide, St. Vincent Gulf, South Australia, Australia

With its elegantly proportioned curves and delicate undulating pattern of fine lines, a decentt size and high gold Amoria undulate is a most beautiful shell. 

Amoriia undulate is a member of the family Volutidae. Its common name is Wavy Volute. It is carnivores eating mainly small sea snails. 

There are multiple specie of Amoria that can be collected in southern Australia. where they  inhabit the tidal flats where they breed. Australia is known for its extensive tides that leave huge amounts of the bottom surface exposed at low tide, even more so on the extreme low tides.  Amoria undulate like many others in its family live at the far end of the tidal bank. They are not found close to the shore. After breeding season they migrate to deeper water.   

To collect one has to watch the tide table and wade out a long distance in hopes to collect, alway keeping an eye on the cock so as not to get drowned by the surging incoming tie. Hence, these shells don’t show up all that often in  collections. 

This specimen was donated by Richard Kent who obtained it from a South Australian shell dealer/collector. It is solid and full adult. It would be graded as a gem. It would be a standout in any collection!

Terebra areolata (Link, 1807) by diver 20m in sand, Palawam Island, Philippines

Terebra pertusa (Born, 1778) hand dredged 4-8m, Olango Island, Cebu, Philippines 

Terebra nebulosa (Sowerby, 1825) hand dredged 4-8m, Olango Island, Cebu, Philippines 

The Terebridae are a very large family composed of over 400 species. They are world-wide in distribution and live in tropical waters. They prefer a sandy bottom where they feed on sea worms using a harpoon like attachment to poison their prey. They are commonly called Augers, named after a drill bit.

Most augers are small  growing to a maximum size of3 2-3” with many species much smaller then that.  There are a dozen or so species that reach 5+6”, one of which we have here.  And then there is the heavy weight Marlin Spoke, Terebra maculata in a class bu itself. This sold, massive shell reaches 10”.

The Augers a re a colorful lot with an amazing amount of variety. One needs a magnifying glass to identify the smaller species and it would probably take an expert o do so.

The pretty rose colored Terebra nebulosa came out of a dealers lot of 30 that had a few others species mixed in..

All shells were acquired by Richard Kent from a dealer based in Cebu, Phillips.

When shelling in Florida waters, keep an eye open, we have augers here, though all are bland whitish in color.

Melongena corona (Gmelin, 1791) Florida Crown Conch

Melongena corona, the Crown Conch, inhabits the shore line of the Gulf of Mexico, especially the west coast of Florida.  It has several closely related species and itself several named varieties. It is variable in size, shape, intensity of color an of particular interest the number and size of the should spines, its Crown of Thorns. Typical specimens reach an adult size of three inches, this one is about four and the rare well fed specimen may reach five inches.

The Crown Conch is cream in color encircled by light to dark brown bands. It has a wide mouth, a claw shaped operculum, and its shoulder is adorned with short atubby spines forming the crown. It is a predator, particularly fond of oysters but will eat any bivalve it comes across. Despite its name, it is not a conch. 

This large distinctive specimen, with its outstanding crown, was donated by Robert Marchiselli, a Tampa Bay area shell dealer. 

Hexaplex cichoreum
(Gmelin, 1791) ^[1]

18Hexaplex cichoreum (Gmelin, 1791)  iS a Western Pacific murex of medium to large size, known for its interesting and variable varices. In some specimens they are short and curled while in others stubby. Some populations have long varices (spines) as in this specimen. The shell is commonly white with orange brown bands and the varices are dark chocolate to black. Rare specimens are melanistic and others albino, The spire also varies from short too long.

This specimen is of good size, 4″ long and was collected in the coral reefs by SCUBA off Palawan Island, Philippines in 2018.