www.cowries.info

[benicypraea]

Dear all:

If you are interested in rare or very rare cowries, I agree that the places named as Pitcairn, Sala & Gomez and others are good spots for these, but also I want to add several poorly known areas (maybe some of these areas are well studied so maybe I´m wrong, excuse in that case):

PACIFIC OCEAN

Wake Island, Johnston Atol, Kingman Reef, Raoult Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Norfolk Island, Kure Island, Tori-shima Island, Bonin Island...

INDIAN OCEAN

Scott Reef, Nicobar Islands, Cocos Islands, Christmas Islands, Diego Garcia Island, Socotra Island, Masirah Island, etc...

ATLANTIC OCEAN

Sao-Tomé e Principe, the formerly known as Spanish Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, and specially, all the coast of Namibia, Ascension & Saint Helena Islands, the entire coast of Republic of South Africa, etc.

I have the impression of which these places still offer enough surprises for the researchers...
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[XEP-BAM]

Regarding forms, what about albino and golden decipiens? I thought they are more rare than Zoila rosselli edingeri or golden thersites?

[felix]

These golden and albino forms certainly are often more rare, but they are individual forms, not really species. For instance, certain sinistral or rostrate forms are quite unique.

[benicypraea]

Hello all:

I agree with Felix. (Very nice shells, indeed) Certain specimens of common/uncommon cowries are very rare because the strange colouration or unusual shape. For instance, can anyone imagine a fully rusty rostrate cowry from NC? Maybe not, but personally I have seen one strange greenish overcasted eglantina with the typical strong rostration typically found in specimens from NC. I remember another instance of a strange rostration in a single species, even you can see a picture of the shell itself in the book "Australia´s Spectacular Cowries", if you open the book, please take a look of the plate 355, figure f, what shows a wonderful and very rostrate Umbilia hesitata found in Disaster Bay, NSW, at a depth unrecorded some decades ago.
I think this specimen is particularly rare in such condition and grading. I´m sure not many ones like these have been found since its discovery, and probably the search of new ones like these will be unproductive, at least in my opinion...
I also agree with XEP-BAM. Most of the golden forms in Zoila species are actually rare or very rare. For instance, the search of a real Zoila roselli satiata f. edingeri is, always within my knowledge, is an adventure with lots of problems. The same is for many other golden forms, but I think the australian friends may talk about it, because I do not know much about it, sincerely.
More ideas, opinions, thoughts, pictures and remarks about rare individuals are greatly apreciated...
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[Notocypraea]

The rarity question is an interesting one.

For eg. what about the Notocypraea species... Cypraea (Notocypraea) wilkinsi (Griffiths, 1959).
How many of you have a genuine one of these in your collections or have even seen a specimen?

In all my searching and collecting of Notocypraea I have only ever found one live specimen. I know of one other live taken specimen (mid 90's) that was dredged.

Add this to the couple of specimens found by Griffiths (in the late 50's & early 60's) and it's definitely quite a rare cypraea species especially in collections.

Less interest could be because of it's small size (18-24mm) and relatively limited commercial value.

Some may argue that it is a colour morph of piperita (as golden thersites, golden rosselli etc are). But still it's a very rare shell from my experience.


Regards,
Simon

[benicypraea]

Hello all:

I agree, Notocypraea. In fact, some of the rarest shells in the world (not only cowries, of course) are very small and the colour is not atractive at all. I am thinking for instance, in P. barbieri, a nice shell from Polynesia (very beautiful in colour when live) but still unavailable in most of collections...
Some small conidae, Turridae, bivalves, etc, are still very rare but poorly known because the small size and the homogeneus coloration.
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[PVDB]

"Very rare" and "valuable shells" -
My and my beloved Nancy's anticipated Xmas and New Years wishes for a nice, healthy and serene 2010 (with lot of new rare and valuable discoveries included).

Some time ago I made a promess, to show in this forum pictures of a new-year present I received from Guido Poppe and his wife Cécile 2 or 3 years ago. It was more an - "inner circle" - joke, we often laugh with what is considered as "very rare" and "extra rare" and "very valuable" and "not found any more" and things like that, and with age our/my greed has faded (a bit ) and we have quite some fun with all the good and sometimes the bad stories that make part of our lives and hobbies.

If You can find the original message back somewhere in the forum archives: the 3 (beached) rarities this UNIQUE ashtray is made off were once - in the nineteensixties, early seventies - considered as absolute rarities, probably never to be possessed by one single very wealthy collector.

Next is a necklace made of tessellata.A necklace made out of ostergaardi is not possible (yet).




With love, Best anticipated wishes from angel Nancy and PVDB.

[felix]

holy smokes, this is one ugly ashtray!
Thank you for posting.

how about a midwayensis-moneyclip?

[PVDB]

I forgot to tell that I am a militant non-smoker.

But You can use this magnificent object - after thoroughfull washing, cleaning and desinfecting - as a bonbonniere too, filled of course with (Belgian) seafruit chocolates from Guylian.

A friend just asked 10 minutes ago what is so special at this "horrible thing" as he calls it.

So I tell him that it is made of a cypraea valentia, a (piece of) pleurotomaria rumphii and topped by a cypraea guttata guttata - you really have to explain everything - and that is was first offered to Guido by JP., and then by Guido to me, and that it came from the Philippines, and that we have lot of fun with it.

"Oh" , he - the friend - said "now I understand, it's fake!"

[benicypraea]

Hello all:

Nice picture, PVDB, I have never seen this kind of ashtray before. In South Portugal people use as ashtray the big valves of Panopea glycimeris, one of the largest and heaviest shells in the mediterranean sea.
In Greece is not uncommon to see another large bivalve from genus Glycimeris used as ashtray...
Concerning cowries, take a look of the rostrate Umbilia hesitata pictured in the Australia´s book in its original article:

New Series No. 35 -- November, 1962 -- VOL. XI No. 1

The specimen is spectacular, but the shell from Lorenz is not very different, at least in my personal point of view. The two are simply exceptional shells.

Enjoy the article...
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[Bart]

I have been collecting Cowries for over 40 years already and I have seen
many "rare" species become "common".
But it works in the opposite way as well...Some of the more "common" species of 30-40 years ago have become "rare"...
A veteran shelldealer once told me: "If you wait long enough, a species
will be obtainable"
That's why it is so important to record all available data, especially when (in what year) the Cowry was collected...