Oliva miniacea or sericea?

[dave r]

If you compare the two you will find O.sericea is a wider, more oval shell whereas miniacea is taller and more cylindrical. Sericea generally has a pale yellow to pale orange mouth, miniacea usually has a deeper orange to red one. You are right on the pattern of sericea, it is much finer than that on miniacea and tends to be grey, black and white.Miniacea tends towards yellows and reds with dark browns. These are all guidelines of course, visit gastropods.com and you will see good photos of both species.
Dave