Cassis madagascariensis and form spinella

[pilsbryi]

These two might be the most difficult to get nowadays. At "Compendium of Seashells  they were stated as common and used for producing cameos !!!

No matter the rarity that a certain shell can reach these kind were my holy graal for a long,long time .

I had the luck to get both, so at the case of being interest at, i can provide its pictures . They were caught in Florida .



Both come from Florida and they are NOT from an older collection . ( 2001 - spinella and 2008 - madascariensis )
About their sizes : 140 mm for madascariensis and a true Gem specimen, and 170 mm for spinella that only has a tiny defect .
Both are quite forgotten, and it seemed a good idea to bring them up to light .
For all those that i see,  these two are actualy very rare and very hard to get as well .

Kind regards

pilsbryi with an "i" , like the Latiaxis

[marlo]

Hi pilsbryi,

Since these are both Florida shells and not everyone understands the difference between the two (including me), it would be a great service if you would post photos and an explanation of how to distinguish the two on Let's Talk Seashells.

<a href="http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?act=site" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?act=site">http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologis ... p?act=site</a><!-- m --></a>
<a href="http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php">http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologis ... /index.php</a><!-- m --></a>

Or, if you email me photo files and your text, I'll do the work of creating a presentation for your approval and posting.  See example: <a href="http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1733" target="_blank"><!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist_Forum/index.php?showtopic=1733">http://z14.invisionfree.com/Conchologis ... topic=1733</a><!-- m --></a>  (This is a mix of my photos and others.)

Hope to hear from you,

<!-- e --><a href="mailto:marlo@cfl.rr.com">marlo@cfl.rr.com</a><!-- e -->

[pilsbryi]

I shall send the pictures to you , and believe to me that no words wont be added in the explainaition .

They are NOT the same and there is a problem that i would like to discuss ?

What happened to Cassis madascariensis ? Most shall say that i am crazy but my oppinion is that this beauty it is a very rare shell these days .

This might explain why some collectors in the past did not know or believed that they are the same .

To Marlo and all other that read this : you might being loosing the chance of having a piece of history , something that was seen at the old days , but unfortunately these are long gone .

I grew wondering the day i would have a Cassis madascariensis and a spinella. They are the most precious creatures at hand. Took me more than 25 years, but i did it !

Once a collector made the task of gathering the most 50 rare shells in existence . My concern it is about get all that almost disappared or vanished for good with a main concern in the Caribbean ( certain species and forms ) and Panamic.

Takes time and effort but sometimes you have the prize .

Kind regards

Pilsbryi

[marlo]

Pilsbryi provided the following wonderful images:

<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/mouth.jpg" alt="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/mouth.jpg" style="border:0" /> <img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/CassismadagascariensisspinellaFLORI.jpg" alt="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/CassismadagascariensisspinellaFLORI.jpg" style="border:0" />

<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/spinella2-frontview.jpg" alt="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/spinella2-frontview.jpg" style="border:0" /> <img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/Cassismadagascariensis.jpg" alt="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/Cassismadagascariensis.jpg" style="border:0" />

<img src="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/Cassismadagascariensis141mm.jpg" alt="http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/olram9/Attachment%20conversions/Cassismadagascariensis141mm.jpg" style="border:0" />  <span class="petit">--Last edited by marlo on 2010-04-21 19:27:18 --</span>