Online Articles
** Publication of two new books 2022 - Published : Apr 13, 2022
I'm proud to announce the publication of two books : CONE SHELLS OF THE SEYCHELLES and CONE SHELLS OF THE MARQUESAS. The first one is the second version of my earlier work (2019). The book have been re-written. The number of pages has doubled! The number of plates has increased too!
** NEW BOOK : CONE SHELLS OF MARTINIQUE & GUADELOUPE - Published : May 18, 2020
We are proud to announce the publication of our book on Caribbean cones. One version (English & french) have been published. This is the result of a year of a hard work.This is a 333-page guide that will delight the beginner but also the specialist. 122 plates representing 580 specimens are presented to you. The book is in A5 format. It is easy to take on vacation. Of course, this book can be used throughout the Caribbean because many species are found throughout this geographical area! The texts are numerous (one for each species). Part is dedicated to certain identification keys for beginners. There is also a huge part about molecular analyses in partnership with the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris (MNHN).
** NEW BOOK : CONE SHELLS OF THE SEYCHELLES - Published : Dec 15, 2018
I wanted to announce the imminent publication of my book on Seychelles cones. Two versions will be published in January 2019: a French and an English version. This is the result of a year and a half of work. This is a 173-page guide that will delight the beginner but also the specialist. 70 plates representing 278 specimens are presented to you. The book is in A5 format. It is easy to take on vacation. Of course, this book can be used throughout the Indian Ocean because most of the species is found throughout this geographical area! The texts are numerous (one for each species). Part is dedicated to certain identification keys for beginners...
** Family trip to Mauritius - Published : Sep 20, 2018
It was a long time since we wanted to visit Mauritius. This island regularly feeds the articles of our dear magazine and we see many emblematic species, especially in my family of predilection: the CONIDAE. It was during the Easter holidays of 2018 that we flew with the family for Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. We chose to spend a third of our stay in the north at Grand Bay then the second third at La Preneuse and finally third at Pointe d'Esny.
** Trip to Maldives - Published : Jul 31, 2017
We had been dreaming of swimming in the Maldives for years. We were lucky this year in July to stay for a week on the island of Helengeli which is north of Male Atoll. It is an island that is located in the middle of the pass. The seabed is nice but quite damaged. The corals are not majestic, they have suffered greatly. The fish fa
** CONIDAE CYPRAEIDAE & TEREBRIDAE of French Polynesia (BOOKS) - Published : Mar 28, 2017
ast saturday (25th march of 2017) I had the pleasure to meet my friend Michel Balleton from Tahiti. We dove together a lot of time when I was living in French Polynesia. He was also part of our team in our Venomic's Mission to Tahiti-Moorea-Makemo several years ago...
** Voyage aux Seychelles Octobre 2015 - Published : Jan 13, 2016
Nicole et moi nous intéressons essentiellement aux cônes, porcelaines, murex et olives. Nous avons déjà rencontré la majeure partie des espèces de CONIDAE et de CYPRAEIDAE seychellois lors de nos précédents voyages. La recherche des coquillages rares n’est pas chose aisée. Il faut faire beaucoup d’apnée entre 2 et 10 m de fond. C’est très éprouvant physiquement. Nicole et moi nous intéressons essentiellement aux cônes, porcelaines, murex et olives. Nous avons déjà rencontré la majeure partie des espèces de CONIDAE et de CYPRAEIDAE seychellois lors de nos précédents voyages. La recherche des coquillages rares n’est pas chose aisée. Il faut faire beaucoup d’apnée entre 2 et 10 m de fond. C’est très éprouvant physiquement. Quelques espèces ne se rencontrent qu’en plongée sous-marine (cette année je ne plongerai pas). Même si certaines espèces n’ont pas ou peu de valeur marchande, elles restent très difficiles à trouver.
** 2 Days at Sanibel island (Florida) : Extreme Low Tide - Published : Apr 11, 2015
Last december 2014 we had the chance to visit Florida (USA). This was a real great family trip. We spend 14 days there after an easy trip from France. Of course we visited Orlando famous parks : Universal Studios (2parks) and Disney Magic Kingdom. With 2 children of 7 and 11 we enoyed a lot Universal Studios parks compared to Disney Magic Kingdom (more crowded and old attractions, not that much spectacular). We also visited Evergaldes National Park : So nice with a very interesting Aligator Farm and it's so nice boat tour :) We s
** Conus (Darioconus) pennaceus Born, 1778 from Seychelles - Published : Feb 03, 2015
Voilà une espèce dont la variabilité n’est plus à démontrer. Très prisée par les collectionneurs, ses nombreuses variations et formes ont été décrites au fil des siècles avec, comme toujours, nombre de synonymes amenant un peu de confusion dans la détermination des spécimens; les Seychelles n’échappant pas à la règle.
** ERRATUM : Conus of the Southeastern United and Caribbean - Published : Oct 23, 2014
Though, there is an error for one of my specimens. At page 151 and 153 you will see an image of a live Conus cedonulli and juste below it is written "Martinique, Photo by David Touitou". These images have been made in Martinique BUT the specimen have been found in Union island (Grenadines archipelago).
** Conus auratinus sur Tahiti ! - Published : Sep 08, 2014
Par une belle matinée en ce mercredi 27 aout, après une plongée au milieu de la passe de Pueu, nous décidâmes avec mon fidèle coéquipier Patrick d’aller grattouiller près du récif barrière. En effet la météo n’ayant pas été favorable ces derniers temps nous avons voulu profiter de cette accalmie.
** VENOMIC PROJECT : Trip To Polynesia - Published : Oct 09, 2013
27 Avril 2013: nous partons enfin pour Tahiti ! L'équipe de VENOMICS est reconstituée, cette fois pour une deuxième mission "cônes" en Polynésie Française. Pierre Escoubas (VenomeTech) et Frédéric Ducancel (CEA Saclay) sont les scientifiques de l'équipe. Ils sont accompagnés comme l'an dernier par David Touitou, pharmacien et collectionneur expert en CONIDAE et grand spécialiste de la collecte sur le terrain, et par son ami Michel Balleton autre expert ès cônes, qui lui, réside à Tahiti et nous guidera sur place. Et bien d'autres nous aideront dans cette mission comme nous le verrrons !
** Shelling report from Tahiti - Published : Oct 03, 2012
e Bursidae possède un canal postérieur allongé et profond, allant bien au-delà de l’ouverture. Sa coquille encroûtée est lourde et épaisse lui donnant un aspect pustuleux et noduleux. Elle est également marquée de varices axiales .La columelle est plissée Le labre est denticulé. Son apex est le plus souvent tronqué. L’animal de couleur blanchâtre parsemé de rose est doté d’une longue trompe et d’un opercule corné. Elle vit principalement en eau peu profonde sous les blocs de corail mort près des récifs barrière .
** Seashells & Art - Published : Oct 03, 2012
Spectacular places attract artists and I suppose that is one reason that I ended up making Hawaii my home. My childhood was spent fishing on the great rivers of northern California and that played a large part in my love for boats, travel and adventure. When I was old enough to leave home I went straight to Hawaii and learned to scuba dive and free dive proficiently while working at my first job in a dive shop. These skills would serve me well, soon leading to a new position as a crew member on a private yacht on it’s second world circumnavigation. All aboard were avid shell hunters and my interest in shells began...
** 2nd International CONE MEETING - Published : Sep 30, 2012
This meeting gathered about 50 guests. The most important thing to remember is that this meeting gets together collectors, dealers and scientists. It's a rare and so great opprotunity to discuss with everybody in the same place. Some came from very far away like the US indeed !! I had a real great pleasure to meet many persons that I never met before bu with who we had early exchanging mails ! That is the reason why I came,...
** Back from 19 days in the Seychelles - Published : Jun 04, 2011
These 19 days spent in the Seychelles with my family allowed me to seek for shells again. That's always an extreme pleasure to flip dead coral plates (and flip them back) in order to find THE GREAT shell... Personnally as I collect mainly cones, I spend most of my snorkeling and scuba' time looking under stones, dead corals and boulders. This time again was able to find some interesting specimens and here are images of local live seashells !
** La Garde (France) Shell Show 2011 - Published : Apr 10, 2011
Le 26 et 27 février 2011 s'est déroulée à La Garde, une fois encore, le magnifique salon du coquillage (et du mineral). L'organisation est comme chaque année parfaite. Nos deux organisateurs principaux, Roger LE BEON et Jean Marie COLIN ont fourni une fois n'est pas coutume un travail formidable. Il faut dire que la salle leur procure un lieu convivial où les places de parking ne manquent pas. Cette année j'ai eu le privilège de pouvoir manger le samedi 26 avec ce petit groupe de passionnés. En plus d'une forte convivialité nous avons mangé un rpas excellent ! Vraiment c'est une bourse à ne pas manquer dans notre région !!
** 2010 Trip To Madagascar - Published : Jan 26, 2011
Un grand bonheur de retrouver Mada , rien ou presque n'a changé après 4 ans d'absence. Les promenades sur la plage d'Ambatoloaka , la couleur de l'eau qui me change de celle des plages de Cayenne. L'arrivée des pêcheurs en pirogue chargée de poissons , on pouvait en avoir un comme sur la photo pour 10000 ariary environ 4 euros.
** Phuket (Thailand) 3 weeks Trip - Published : Dec 10, 2010
La visite de James Bond island reste le morceau de choix il manquait quand même le village muslim un village de pêcheurs sur pilotis sinon ballades en canoe , rencontre avec des animaux bizarres comme la limule et toujours les monkeys de service qui viennent te voler les bananes. Pour finir spectacle de danse d’un lady boy à bord du bateau.
** Small snails from Mediterranean sea Part 1 - Published : Aug 09, 2010
This summer we decided, Laurent Kbaïer & I, to photograph Mediterranean snails. This fisrt dive was done at Porquerolles island, south of France (where we live). Weather in july was really hot this year and temperature of water was quite warm !We found our molluscs in 3 to 7 meters of water
** 2010 Seychelles' trip - Published : Jun 21, 2010
We flought strait to Mahé, Seychelles in the end of march 2010 for a 20 days rest in one of the last exotic paradise on earth. We stayed mostly on Praslin and 3 days on the so quiet island named La Digue. Seychelles remain a wonderful country for family holidays as dangers are really rare there : no snake, no dangerous animal, no main marine
** Low tide searching at 5 miles reef, South New Caledonia - Published : Jun 16, 2010
Voici un petit reportage de notre expedition au recif des 5 miles ce week-end. Etaient present : Thierry Quemener ( deuxieme en partant de la droite ), Thomas ( a droite ), Franck Leterrier ( a gauche avec la casquette ), Serge ( devant au milieu ) et Solange Hervieux avec Tim et Tom, ainsi qu'Elodie ma femme et moi meme ( derriere au centre ).
** Conus hornii in Venezuela - Published : May 16, 2010
I live in Varese (Italy), where I was born in 1957. I started collecting shells when I was young. Recently I begin to collect fossil conus: in my collection I have over 140 species of fossil conus. In May 2008 I purchased a Conus from the Cantaure formation, east of S. Jose, in the peninsula of Paraguana, a Miocenic zone. Initially I could not find documentation that would allow me to identify what species it was, so I have earmarked this fossil to examine later. After I have added to my interest the Conus fossils from California
** Diving with the Mediterranean Cowries - Published : Oct 21, 2009
During this summer, we manage with my mate Laurent, underwater amateur photographer,to make some shots while diving along with the mediterranean cowrie : The famous Luria lurida lurida . This common but hard to spot cowrie, hidden during the daytime under rocks or in rocks fissures is a real nice model for underphotography. Like Erosaria spurca it shows rapidly it's manthe and the
** A new marginella from M. glabella group "Marginella cf. desjardini" - Published : Oct 12, 2009
This new marginella is closely related to M. sebastiani Marche-Marchad & Rosso, 1979 and M. desjardini Marche-Marchad, 1957,and may be confused with both.It seems to be an hybrid of these two species as they lives in the same area. It is also different of M. pseudosebastiani Mattavelli, 200
** Live rare seashells images direct from the Philippines - Published : May 13, 2008
This not really an article. It shows awesome images of rare live shells from The phlippines and kindly sent by TOPSEASHELLS, one of our sponsors. Jean-Pierre Barbier sent us images of : Cypraea (Lyncina) leucodon Cypraea (Leporicypraea) valentia Cymbiola palawanica Cymbiola vespertilio (albino) & Conus striatus
** Winter Scuba Diving in France, or the unexpected cowrie - Published : Dec 26, 2007
It's Winter time here (South Of France), by the way the weather is not that bad and temperatures are still cool. We decide to go scuba. The team will gather Laurent Kbaier, Great Underwater Photographer (http://www.bluesun.fr/); my father (who'll take us to the spot) and myself. Water temperature is 16°C which is warm for december...
** Cypraea Erosaria spurca : details of the manthe - Published : Sep 18, 2007
During this dive,19th august 2007 with my team mate Laurent Kbaïer (http://www.bluesun.fr), we manage to find a live Cypraea spurca Gmelin, 1791. The specimen was found under a rock at 17 meters at Hyères (Presqu'île de Giens, France). Laurent made amazing macro photos of
** Night Scuba in France, live shell pictures - Published : Aug 23, 2007
In September (2007) we decided, Laurent and I to night scuba around Hyères. We made 3 night dives already and we have seen many molluscs while scuba. Laurent managed to take some amazing shots, as always... I let yo uenjoy some of them here. Remember that more photos can be seen there :
** Pictures of a Live Cypraea hirundo francisca from Seychelles : a scoop !! - Published : Jun 13, 2007
During my last vacations, in the Seychelles, we had the chance to get our hands on a live specimen of the rare and endemic Cypraea hirundo francisca (Schilder & Schilder 1938). I can't be sure but It seems that it have never been live photographied yet. Unfortunately I was not able to make shots in it's habitat. I manage to make photos in a small translucent cup. But it's really enough to have a good idea of the animal. I let you enjoy the pictures... The specimen was found around Praslin island by 4 meters of water, under a medium of dead coral boulder on sandy part
** Conus gubernator leehmani in the Seychelles ? - Published : Apr 26, 2007
The Seychelles, one of the last paradise on earth, host many of the Indian Ocean Sea Shells species. Some particularities occurs there though. The islands host the beautiful pinkish Cypraea hirundo francisca, Schilder. & Schilder 1938 and Conus textile is not present. This archipelago owns Conus gubernator, Hwass 1792 Cone shell specie. Two publications : The Cone Shells Os Seychelles, A.G. Jarrett & D. Slimming (G.T. Phillips & Co Ltd., 1970); Marine Shells Of The Seychelles, A.G. Jarrett (Carole Green Publishing,2000) can be f
** Extending The Range Of Conus pseudoaurantius & C. aurantius - Published : Jan 16, 2007
Conus pseudoaurantius Vink & Cosel 1985, is usually found in the "Grenadines" (West indies).I personnally collected live specimens of Conus pseudoaurantius when I traveled to the "Grenadines", down in the Tobago Keys. Habitat is hard reef, on sand and coral substrata. Animal is bright red colored. They look like small Conus aurantius but really seem to be a valid specie.Both specimens shown here wereself-collected in the Tobago Keys recently (2000-2002).
** New Caledonian Conus marmoreus complex - Published : Dec 19, 2006
This is a rather small complex compared to other ones like Conus magnificus-episcopatus. But many of us get sometimes confused in front of some strange specimens. Even if I do not buy shells, I usually watch the shell dealers' websites to see what they offer to collectors and to dream on many beautiful specimens. Many times the data associated to the shell is not correct and especially with Conus marmoreus New Caledonian
** Conus textile variation from Tuamotu - Published : Sep 20, 2006
onus textile f. verriculum is restricted theorically to the Indian Ocean and is usually found in Madagascar and Mauritius (see the pictures below). Recently, Mr Balleton and myself were able to collect a local variation of Conus textile from the Tuamotu Atolls. We went to Hao and Fakarava Atolls, and both Atolls had this variation (see the pictures below). We named it f. "pseudoverriculum" for our personnal data and for fun (no more
** Conus regius Martinique variations - Published : Aug 22, 2006
Conus regius, espèce de la zone caraïbe, est classée parmi les espèces communes à peu communes suivant les localités. Malgré cette fréquence, il n'est pas toujours facile de la récolter si l'on ne connait pas parfaitement son habitat. C. regius vit habituellement à des profondeurs comprises entre 0.5 et 30 mètres. Il peut s'enfouir complètement dans le sable, à l'abri ou non d'une roche ou d'un morceau de corail mort; mais en général il préfère se...
** Second trip to NC, Conus marmoreus amazing variations - Published : Jan 24, 2006
Second trip to New-Caledonia - Christmas 2005 Family trip but still hunting for Cone shells... That's the second time I have the chance to travel to this very nice island. But this time it was not a pure shell collecting trip... it was a family trip. I managed to collect some cone shells though. The first shell hunting party was on the East coast, night scuba at deaph of 6-10m. It was supposed to be a good spot for rare cone shells such as Conus bullatus, Conus ammiralis and Conus crocatus. The shells were not out this night. After one hour and a half of shell hunting we came back with two amazing Conus tesselatus and a Conus litteratus...
** Conus aulicus chasing Cypraea talpa in New Caledonia - Published : Oct 19, 2005
This march 17th 2005, while night scuba outside the reef, around 12m of water, Patrick DELESTE (a non-collector friend) and I have seen a rare thing in the natural habitat : a cone shell (Conus aulicus) attacking its prey (Cypraea talpa). First, what a surprise when my light spots this nice species crawling along a rocky slope head down. I immediately identify the specimen to be a Conus aulicus (very uncommon species there) ! It's not a giant but what a beauty ! He crawles fastly like if it was attracted by something... 30 to 40 cm under it, a juvenile Cypraea talpa is hidden in a crevice.
** Lambis robusta Swainson, 1821 A Polynesian Endemic species - Published : May 17, 2005
French Polynesia offers some endemic species to collectors, but they are mainly concentrated in the Marquesas Islands. However, some endemics are not restricted to these Islands. This is the case of our very nice Lambis robusta, Swainson, 1821. This species is found usually outside the reef on the external slope. The average deaph of its habitat may vary from 10 to 25 meters. It is usually found among dead coral fragments and can be difficult to spot. When the shell is cleaned (which may take sometime), a real beauty appears with overall dorsum color is pink to light orange-brown. The "fingers" are dark brown to black colored. The mouth is a mix of black orange and white colors. This species remains uncommon and one must pay a lot of attention to spot this wonderful species. Here are pictures or four specimens I collected at Moorea Island.
** Forms of cribraria comma (Perry 1811) and of esontropia francescoi (Lorenz 2002) - Published : May 11, 2005
Material available to author in his own collection: c. comma (130), c. comma var. (3), e. francescoi (16), e. francescoi form mainland (34), intermediates of cribraria comma/esontropia francescoi (3) and varying numbers of specimens of c. abaliena, e. esontropia, e. cribellum and pelliserpentis. In addition, the author viewed specimens in the collections of Werner Massier (Swakopmund, Namibia), Clinton Matheson (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Vellie Veldsman and Laurie Smith (Pretoria, South Africa).
** A review of the Bistolida-complex of Africa's north-eastern, eastern and southern coastlines and the adjacent Indian Ocean islands - Published : May 11, 2005
This study document reviews the Bistolida-complex with specific reference to the sp. and ssp. along the north-eastern, eastern and southern coastlines of Africa and the adjacent islands. Some three decades ago in 1977, C.M. Burgess (1977) questioned the validity of some Bistolida sp. on the grounds of conchological similarities or apparent integrades (such as hirundo and owenii; brevidentata and stolida; erythraeensis and stolida; hirundo and neglecta). Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. One of the Bistolida sp. has since been split: stolida diauges gave rise to the sp. diauges and the ssp. stolida clavicola. Two new Bistolida ssp. were described: stolida brianoi and stolida uvongoensis.
** Conus textile variation from Polynesia & New Caledonia - Published : Feb 16, 2005
In French Polynesia, we have two variations of Conus textile. The first one which I called "classic variation" represent the usual form of Conus textile which is common to many Pacific & Indian Oceans places. Of course they may vary like any genus though. By the way, in the Tuamotu Atolls, we have a local forma/variation wich is ver
** Conus legatus & Conus pertusus from Tahiti - Published : Aug 25, 2004
Conus legatus, Iindo-Pacific specie, is a really collector's appreciated coneshell. Maybe for it's pretty pink color. I personally love this specie. It is a rare coneshell. Here, in Tahiti, it can be found outside the reef or in the lagoon under small dead corals plates. It's habitat seems to start around 12 meters, however they have been found in only one meter of water, near the edge of the reef.So it is often found while scuba. It only hunts at night. It is not hard to find it during daytime, because it rarely burrows (like C. canonicus for example). You just have to flip small & medium dead coral fragments.
** Conus lividus and its related cone shells : help to identify them - Published : Jul 14, 2004
An incredible mess... but with time, all those will be correctly identified. This article is mainly dedicated to cone shells beginners and to amateur who never paid a real attention to those common shells. When you start diving to collect your own shells from the Indo-Pacific Ocean, you will often begin by finding common species, and in many cases, you'll probably pick up Conus lividus, Conus frigidus, Conus sanguinolentus, Conus flavidus and maybe Conus muriculatus/sugillatus, Conus moreleti, Conus glans.
** Notes On Diving At Nuku Hiva Island, Marquesas And Moorea Island - Published : Jun 16, 2004
This was my first visit to the tropical islands of French Polynesia and I really looked forward to the trip. My traveling companions were Wayne Harland and Gene Everson. They are well-known collectors and shell experts with lots of experience in traveling to exotic locations. Gene made the arrangements for the boat, transportation and the other details. Finally October 25th arrived, and I was on my way. My flight to Los Angles to meet up with the famous duo was comfortable and uneventful. Wayne found me at the A.O.M. French Airlines counter in Los Angeles trying to find out if my luggage from the Delta flight had
** Live Cypraea niger from New-Caledonia and their camouflage - Published : Apr 13, 2004
Seeing a niger cowrie is rather easy because the intense glossy black contrasts with the surrounding colors.But it's very difficult to find C. Stolida whose pale yellow mantle blends with its natural habitat.It's necessary to have well-trained eyes, especially for this one..
** Seashell Collecting on a Shrimp Boat - Published : Apr 06, 2004
I've "worked" on a shrimp boat as a striker (deck hand) every chance I get. I say "work", because although at times the work is very physical and all of my 127 pounds are needed to haul in the lines that pull the nets in , it's very different from my day-job as a bookkeeper for a private elementary school. It's wonderful being out on the ocean long before dawn and each time we go out is different. Sometimes the ocean is flat like a lake. Other times
** Collecting "Freak" Cone Shells - Published : Feb 17, 2004
In my collections of conus I have quite a few "freak" specimens. I consider freak specimens to be those with characteristics that are not comparable with typical specimens. This could be in the form of a strange new pattern or color, as well as obvious growth defects both natural and/or with man-made aspects ( like pollution ). In terms of pattern or color, I dont think a shell should be specifically labeled a freak, unless the pattern is due to a growth flaw or other defect. For example...... this picture of a beautiful large 115mm Conus marmoreus has a particularly beautiful and odd pattern, but I would not call it a freak! I think of this as more of a color/pattern variant rather than a freak pattern.
** Where are the Tahitian seashells hiding ? - Published : Jan 14, 2004
I decided to write this article, due to my anger over the disappearance of our seashells... A strange phenomenon must have happened here, but which one ? Of course, everywhere around the world, in any place, shells are less abundant than before. When I first came here in August 2002, I could find regular species, even if the locals and the local collectors said that shells were now not so easy to find. It seems that 2003 was fine too, then 2004, was the year of the real disparition of our seashells...
** Marie-Galante Cowries - Published : Jun 24, 2003
Marie-Galante is a very pleasant island of the West Indies. It's just at the South-East of Guadalupe. I've been living there for 6 months and I came back with some cowries. I found the first surinamensis ever found there. It's not in good condition (found beach of course) but it measures 38 mm which is remarkable for this species. Here it seems to live in very deep waters on the Caribbean side coast. VERY RARE (also everywhere else in the west Indies)...
** Trip To Marco Island (Florida) - Published : May 13, 2003
Just a week ago i came back from Marco Island Florida and i collected over 100 shells. Iall found them while snorkeling from 3 to 5 feet of water and most of them are gem. I found : 7 alphabet cones (Conus spurius 65mm-26mm), 33 fighting conchs (Strombus alatus 127mm-26mm),
** Lissenung Island, New Ireland - a paradise for shell lovers - Published : May 13, 2003
The Lissenung Island Resort near Kavieng, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea is a place every shell collector would keep as a secret. On a small island, a few hundred metres across, a resort was built and is run by our friend Dietmar Amon, an experienced dive instructor and one of the nicest people I know. He started picking up dead shells a few years ago and has developed a great skills in finding shells. Dietmar and his team welcome shell collectors on their island. You have to be willing to behave
** Conus pennaceus from Seychelles Archipelago - Published : Apr 23, 2003
It is the second time I am looking for cone shells in Seychelles archipelago. This time i was able to catch three new species : Conus aulicus, Conus pennaceus & Conus gubernator.Conus pennaceus is a rare shell there. I found only two of them. They were laying under medium pieces of dead corals. I found them in 2-4 meters deep. It is a really nice shell and very different from C. episcopatus & C. aulicus. The two specimens are different and GEM. As on dealers lists and in collections C. pennaceus never comes from this locality, I wanted to share with you the pictures of this particular & nice species.
** Trip To New Caledonia - Published : Feb 13, 2003
During september 2003, I had the chance to fly from Tahiti to New Caledonia Island, a wonderful shell collecting spot. This was my first trip there, on the amazing island. I was hosted by a couple of friends, also collectors, I met online and they were really nice with me, taking me to their favourite shelling spots. Of course, I will not mention any spot to preserve them from overcollecting. First of all, the island. the first impression, excepted the cold at this part of the year, is what a wide island... you can drive for hours without seeing anybody. This a real wild country. Of course most of the people there live near the main city of Noumea. Another surprising thing is the diversity of the landscapes and so of the shores which creates many very different habitats. That one of the reason why New Caledonia have so many very local endemic seashells.
** Conus boui Da Motta, 1988 Two species under the same name ? - Published : Feb 12, 2003
First, I would like to come back on a few points concerning this lovely specie named "recently" as Conus boui (from Mr Bou's name) by Mr Da Motta in 1988 : This specie seems to be endemic from Martinique island (Caribbean). Never any other specimen were found elsewhere in the Caribbean (and of course in the world). It's Habitat is around 25-35m usually, but it can be found sometimes in 10m depth. It seems to be like C. daucus a worm-killer species. It is a small shell wich can reach 40mm though.
** Sailing down to the Grenadines - Published : Nov 20, 2002
We started the cruise in the harbor of Marin in Martinique. Then, we went south toward St. Lucia island where we staid a night in Soufirère bay. After this stop, we went more south to spend a day in Admiratly bay in Bequia. I did not find any shell in this bay, during daytime and even during night snorkeling. The next day we went to Mustique. Here also i did not find many things, only a few Oliva shells. Then, we left Mustique and went down to Union island. I found during daytime, while snorkeling a few very old Conus cedonulli Linnaeus, 1767 beached where waves breaks on the beach side... that excited me !! Finally the first evidence of the presence of this wonderful species...
** Keppel Island Blessings - Published : Aug 20, 2002
The weekend was shaping up well for our church youth camp. The weather was calm with a light northerly wind blowing; however the tides were only about 0.9m, so I wasn't expecting to find any shells at all. We decided to trek across the island to Monkey Point on the Southern end of Great Keppel Island. Around 1pm on Friday afternoon about seven teenagers, my wife and I set off. To our surprise when we reached the southern end of the Island the water was crystal clear and calm as a millpond. As we walked across to Monkey Point I saw that the tide was far to high to turn rocks so we jumped in the water instead, casually snorkeling across the rocks we were unaware of the surprises that awaited us.
** A new Cypraea testudinaria from northern New-Caledonia ? - Published : Jul 16, 2002
The Chelycypraea group (one species, C. testudinaria) can clearly be linked with the Trona group (one species, C. stercoraria), for instance, thanks to some features of the shell. Amongst those features, one may notice the strange shape of the fossula which is almost similar in both group. Back in 2000, I found, during my stay in New-Caledonia, an interesting shell which I thought to be an ordinary C. testudinaria (Bélep Islets, Northern N-C). However, apart from its huge h
** Conus regius & Conus cedonulli feedings habits - Published : Dec 18, 2001
I had the chance to observe many Conus regius Gmelin, 1791 & Conus dominicanus Hwass, 1792 in my aquarium and manage to find out what this shells feed on. Conus regius and Conus dominicanus (Grenadines Islands) are both worm killers. They both feed on the carribean "fire worm" Hermodice carunculata (picture below). The worms have usually three different colors : gree, orange or red. This could partially explain the many variations in color of Conus regius.
** Conus daucus and related species variations from Martinique - Published : Sep 11, 2001
I met a collector, specialized in conidae from Caribbean. In fact, he is a specialist of the C. daucus complex. I was able to take a few shots from his personal collection. I did not have the time to take a shot of every shell, so excuse me for the average pictures quality.
** Senegal Cone Shells - Published : Jul 24, 2001
This article shows cones I have founded during a two years stay in Senegal (1990-1992). It is a tentative to illustrate as accurately as possible these species and to show the associate biota’s. For identification it use the help of the " Les cônes du Sénégal " publication by Marcel PIN and K.D. LEUNG TACK, public
** Variations of Cypraea Erosaria acicularis from Martinique (French Caribbean) - Published : Feb 07, 2001
have been collected Martinique cowries since 7 months now. Of course Caribbean Sea is not THE spot to look out for this family. The Cypraeidae family is very poorly represented there. We can find only main four species : - the very common Cypraea cinerea (Gemlin, 1791) (Now splited in several sp. and ssp. like "brasilensis") - the common Cypraea acicularis (Gemlin, 1791) - the very uncomon Cypraea zebra (Linné, 1758) - the very rare Cypraea surinamensis (Perry, 1811)
** A wonderful specimen of Conus Regius "citrinus" - Published : Nov 28, 2000
The sunday 22th (2001), in la Martinique island (french caribbean), we had a really fantastic wether. Usually this is the month of those ling and huge rains... Today not ! A top shiny day with no cloud and no wind !! Incredible. We went with friends (they are not collectors) swimming on a small beach in north caribbean sea, which is not at all frequented by tourists. As we arrived by 11h00 in the morning and we went straight in the sea. All of us (6) started to go to the left side of the beach. We saw a few minutes later some Strombus specimens (all kinds). We found also a few fresh dead Cypraea cinerea and pomum Murex.
** Miters, collectors forgotten seashells - Published : Jul 20, 2000
This article is not a scientific one. It is an amateur work and is exclusively built with my collection material. It is probable, if not sure, that the Miters specialists will find some errors. For instance, the aim is not to review all the living Miters nor to study them. This is not my intend. I only am a collector and I prefer to let this duty to the specialists. If my choice is to write this article, it is because I love this beautiful shells family, and my aim is to share this passion with other collectors. For an easiest pictures understanding you can find hereby the different abbreviations for the sub families of the genus Mitridae :
** Seven days trip to Venezuela - Published : Jun 20, 2000
As we were staying since end of february in la Martinique Island (french caribbean), we decided to go give a visit to our friends in Venezuela in june 2001.They live in Puerto la Cruz, near Barcelona, 30 minutes far from Caracas by plane (5 hours by car).We staid 2 days at Puerto la Cruz in order to visit the islands next to Puerto la Cruz, then went south to stay 3 days in an old hacienda in a cacao plantation. If you go to Venezuela do not miss that !!
** Marginelles - Published : Feb 16, 2000
Cette page n'a aucune prétention scientifique . Elle est le résultat d'une tentative de compilation de quelques rares documents de vulgarisation traitant du sujet. Ma démarche est plus d'ouvrir une rubrique servant de prétexte à des échanges aussi bien d'informations que de spécimens , échanges que je souhaite fructueux et dénués d'esprit mercantile. Je souhaite par ce vecteur pouvoir contribuer à animer un peu le milieu des collectionneurs de marginelles (qu'ils soient " éclairés " ou " esthèt
** A Live Cypraea surinamensis - Published : Feb 09, 2000
When Thomas Honker – a professional collector with almost 20 years of diving experience off the Florida coast – asked me a year ago if I might be interested in joining him on a diving-shelling trip to some of his favorite spots, I answered "Yes." Who wouldn't? Finally, one partly cloudy Saturday morning we met at Delray Beach. Tom felt that the poor water visibility and the rough sea wouldn't make a dive worthwhile. "Perhaps today we'll find a live C
** Cowries of southern Sri Lanka - Published : Jan 05, 2000
This site shows the results of our research carried out along the South coast of Sri Lanka between March 1998 and January 2000. The shells shown here all come from beaches and reefs between Galle and Tangalla. They were collected by local Singhalese fishermen, women and children. Most shells belong to varieties found only in the described area and are are much different from the typical forms of the respective species. To contact us, click here. Your comments are most welcome.
** Cypraea (Luria) lurida lurida in Aquarium - Published : Jan 13, 1999
I wanted to try to have some living cowries in an aquarium. As I live in south of France i decided to catch mediterranean cowries. So the first step is... get my hands on some of these shells... I asked around me and nobody could exactly tell me where this species could hide during daytime. My cousin while scuba found many empty shells (with drilled hole) in many different places, a few Cypraea spurca and only one Cypraea pyrum. I tried with friends to snorkle and started to turn rocks and look in the grass fields. But no specimen were found... I had the chance to find an empty fresh dead specimen (with the drilled hole) under a rock though. This was during august 1999.
** Collecting in The Solomons - Published : Jun 15, 1996
If you are like me, you find it disappointing to read about a shell trip to a wonderful sounding marine area, only to find it is 90% about the country, and the other 10% is about all the money cowries or tulip shells that were found. I want to use my 90% to tell you about the shells I found -- those that would appeal to me, and hopefully to you.
