CYPRAEA LENTIGONOSA BUHARENSIS

[paul monfils]

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>