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I feel that most specimens that appear on the market and reffering as this subspecies are regular lentiginosa.

I have to admit that i only knew its existence few time ago and i have made my investigation.

It has a bluish background; small dark blotch on apex and two small at anterior tips and the three bands are more distinctive.

All lentiginosa have a well defined range and the form buharensis are only found in southern India.

I am telling this because i have seen on auction specimens sold as buharensis from Pakistan, but the problem is that they are not supposed to exist there.






Kind regards

JOSE BENTO

I have 16 Cypraea lentiginosa from India, and even in this small sample there is considerable variation.  Some darker, some lighter; some with distinct bands, some without; some with apical and anterior blotches, which may be either light or dark, large or small, and some with anterior blotches only.  I doubt that "buharensis" should be considered a distinct form, and certainly not a subspecies.  I think it just represents one end of the bell curve - individual specimens in which certain variables happen to occur together - dark color, distinct banding and blotches fore and aft. But there are many specimens that differ from this "form" by just one characteristic. Or two. Or three.  <span class="petit">--Last edited by Paul Monfils on 2009-04-29 23:11:24 --</span>