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RBS5 · Posted: 05.06.2009, 17:17 Post subject: cypraea moneta harrisi

Recently purchased a shell with this name, but noticed it is not listed on Felix's list. Wondered if anyone might have any info about it. Is it a synonym or just a localized form? Information included with the shell is as follows:

Cypraea moneta harrisi (Iredale, 1939)
Takopoto, Tuamoto Islands, Polynesia
in sand pocket on reef at 2-3m collected June 1981

Thank you much
Rex

Randy_Bridges · Posted: 06.06.2009, 05:13 Post subject:

Hi Rex,
The monetas from Tuamoto typically belong to the form moneta f. barthelemyi (Bernardi 1861). Felix has a nice discussion of the monetas in his Guide. Chances are , your harrisi likely looks something like this:

Characteristic white top, and yellow base.
Felix also has the base of a barthelemyi in the photo accompanying his moneta listing in his checklist iconography on the website, as well as an image of this form in his cowry sales list and gallery. Hope this helps you.
Randy

RBS5 · Posted: 08.06.2009, 15:20 Post subject: Yep!

Thanks Randy! this is in fact what my moneta looks like. I had the feeling it was barthelemyi after looking at the sales list and harrisi was just an outdated synonym. Guess I really need to get a copy of the guide. Every time I set out to order a copy another shell shows up I have to have and I end up blowing the money reserved for the guide on more specimens. I will make a note in my records and adjust my data. Thanks again!

Rex

benicypraea · Posted: 12.04.2011, 16:02 Post subject:

Hello all:

In my opinion all the monetas throughout the indopacific are simply monetas and no further name is really needed. Even for rostrate specimens from New Caledonia, we can easily recognize them as moneta, just with its special features.

Regards,

Beni Cool

_________________
Cowry collector (officially) from 1994 to the present day. I like all kind of cowries, but especially N&R, Zoila and color series in common species.
I also like Conidae and Mediterranean seashells.

felix · Posted: 12.04.2011, 19:57 Post subject:

Chapeau to Randy and his answer, I could not have done any better.
Beni, yours is an opinion I have to respect, like the opinion of some people who believe that the moon is made of cheese and covered in a 3mm layer of Helium-dust. Eh, sorry. OK. The truth is, moneta is an incredibly variable and locally recognizable shell if you have proper data and enough shells. You can certainly tell East Africa icterina from Polynesian barthelemyi, the fine-tuning takes place in the vast areas inbetween. Western Australia has a very distinct form, the christmas Islands, too, and so on. Based on localities, at least 20 or more geographic forms can be distinguished. There is a very exhaustive study about moneta by Maria Schilder who really took the effort to analyse which features are ecologic and which ones genetic.

benicypraea · Posted: 13.04.2011, 00:16 Post subject:

Hello Felix:

Well, I refer about the main features of the species. I agree that this is a very extremely variable species in its shape and size throughout its huge range in indian and pacific oceans. In the other hand, I did not know anything about the very well-done research about this common species made by the Schilder, most likely because I´m just a collector and I am not still interested in reading papers about shells written in german languaje. Simply because I don´t speak german (Yes, I know, its a bad thing, indeed).
If I could find the work about moneta in english I will read it carefully and then I will express another opinion based on this. But I assume that the work is not available in english languaje, right?
However I think that perhaps you can extract a bit of info about the work and put in the website to help us to identify our shells at least as a preliminary way to study them.
Regards,

Beni Cool

_________________
Cowry collector (officially) from 1994 to the present day. I like all kind of cowries, but especially N&R, Zoila and color series in common species.
I also like Conidae and Mediterranean seashells.

Darth Shell · Gender: Joined: 28 Mar 2011 Posts: 18 Location: Australia

So let me get this straight. The moon isn't made of cheese and covered in a 3mm layer of Helium-dust?

I have some fresh moneta from here. I will posts some pics for you Beni Smilie

felix · Posted: 13.04.2011, 09:13 Post subject:

@ Darthshell:

http://www.spike.com/video-clips/czwml1/wallace-gromit-a-grand-day-out-we-forgot-the-crackers

@ Beni:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1936.tb06303.x/abstract

and like 99% of all works by the Schilders, it is in English language

benicypraea · Posted: 13.04.2011, 12:24 Post subject:

Thank you very much Felix. I see perfectly that I have been fully wrong about it. I will try to get a full copy of the work.

Regards,

Beni Cool

@ Darth Shell: Thank you for pics of australian moneta. They will be interesting to me.
_________________
Cowry collector (officially) from 1994 to the present day. I like all kind of cowries, but especially N&R, Zoila and color series in common species.
I also like Conidae and Mediterranean seashells.

Darth Shell · Gender: Joined: 28 Mar 2011 Posts: 18 Location: Australia

Here are those pics Beni.

benicypraea · Posted: 16.04.2011, 00:16 Post subject:

Hello Darth Shell:

Thanks for posting this large pic of your australian monetas. They are quite interesting. I see some variations in shape and size. Do you also find annulus in the same location? How many cowries do you get there where you usually go to dive?

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Beni Cool

_________________
Cowry collector (officially) from 1994 to the present day. I like all kind of cowries, but especially N&R, Zoila and color series in common species.
I also like Conidae and Mediterranean seashells.

Darth Shell · Gender: Joined: 28 Mar 2011 Posts: 18 Location: Australia

I don't go diving, Beni, only low tiding.
Those shells were collected over a couple of hundred meter area. The smaller ones tend to come from the edge of the reef and sand and the larger shells come from more on top of the platform. I hope that makes sense.
At the spot where those moneta came from you also get, histrio, tigris, arabica, eglantina, errones, gracilis, clandestina, annulus, and a couple of others.

benicypraea · Posted: 16.04.2011, 22:44 Post subject:

Thanks for info, Darth Shell. Certainly you can get several nice species there!

Regards,

Beni Cool

_________________
Cowry collector (officially) from 1994 to the present day. I like all kind of cowries, but especially N&R, Zoila and color series in common species.
I also like Conidae and Mediterranean seashells.

crushed tomato · Gender: Joined: 17 May 2009 Posts: 61 Location: US

benicypraea · Posted: 11.05.2011, 14:19 Post subject:

Hello, thank you very much for the references... I like very much this species.
I will take a look of those pics of moneta.
I will let you know later.
Regards,

Beni Cool

_________________
Cowry collector (officially) from 1994 to the present day. I like all kind of cowries, but especially N&R, Zoila and color series in common species.
I also like Conidae and Mediterranean seashells.

cypraea moneta harrisi