About Author
|
If you have any question about this website, if you want to send an article or if you find a broken link or anything else related to this website, please contact me :
|
 |
|
|
| About Image Copyrights & publications |
Many images from this website have been used in several publications and books. Please contact author if you wish
to use any of our images. Here are some examples :
 |
2021 Seashell Beauty and the Concept of Nature at Play |
 |
2018 A Taxonomic Iconography of Living Conidae - Volume 1 & 2 |
| 2017 KOMUNITAS HOBI KOLEKSI KERANG INDONESIAN SEASHELLS CLUB publication http://www.seashell-collector.com/Html/pdf%20articles/KeluargaKerangKerangan.pdf |
|
 |
2016 Revision of Dauciconus daucus complex (Gastropoda : Conidae). Description of two new species : Dauciconus jacquescolombi n.sp. from La Martinique and Dauciconus massemini n.sp. from French Guyana by E. Monnier & L. Limpalaër : http://www.xenophora.org/images/rub_xeno/xenotaxo13.jpg |
 |
2014 Alan Khon have published a lot of many of my live Caribbean shell images in his publication : Conus of the Southeastern United States and Caribbean |
| 2014 "Outstanding Marine Molecules and New Trends in Analytical Methids" (Wiley-VCH) 2014 Sera publié sous la coordination de Jean-Michel Kornprobst qui est professeur emeritus a l'Université de Nantes. |
|
 |
2008 Image of snail's attack (Conus cedonulli) have been published in "Animal Life" Charlotte Uhlenbroek (DK,2008) |
 |
2002 Felix Lorenz have published some of my live Caribbean shell images in his publication : New worldwide Cowries |
Here are our images that made the cover of some XENOPHORA magazine numbers :
| About Author |
 |
My name is David Touitou. I was born in 1975 in the city of Toulon (South of France). I studied for 7 years in Marseille City (South of France) at the Medical University and became a Pharmacy Doctor in 2000. Since my childhood, I always collected stuff (stamps, coins, shells, rocks...). I had the chance to go "often" with my parents to one of the last preserved paradise on earth : The Seychelles Islands. |
| There I always searched along the granite rocks in shallow water in order to find freshly dead shells. The only shells I found that way were the very common snake-head cowries (Cypraea caputserpentis) and sometimes a common histrio (Cypraea histrio). In 1997, I found while snorkeling in 3 meters of water, a GEM freshly dead amazing cowrie... It was green colored and had many very nice light spots. I was really astonished by the beauty of that shell. Only to findout it was just my first eroded cowrie (Cypraea erosa). This find launched me in the shell collecting exciting hobby !! We can now say that I really started shell collecting in 1997, because after I came back to France, I tried to meet other collectors and I met Mr Roger Rault with whom we launched this website in the late 1998. Mr Rault taught me so much, he was my mentor in this wonderful passion. Unfortunately Mr Rault died in 2003 and we all lost a great collector. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I started then to collect Cowries. I collected some in the Seychelles and try to build a worldwide collection like many of us by buying shells from dealers and collectors. In 2001, I settled in Martinique Island for 18 months and started to collect Cone Shells as cowries were not so prevelent there (5 species only)... And Cone Shells really got me !! I became a Cone Shell collector since this stay. I, of course, still collect cowries, but my favourite family remains Conidae. I started also at that time to change my way of collecting. I abandonned the worldwide collection and stopped all shell purchases. I prefer to collect shells by myself and build a self-collected collection from the countries I would travel too. After these 18 months in the Caribbean, I moved to Pacific, in French Polynesia in 2002. I will stay there on Moorea from 2002 to 2006. I wil mainly collect Cone shells there and managed to collect shells in New Caledonia too. I moved back to France in august 2006 with family. |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Looking for snails at Fakarava Atoll 2004
|
Diving in Martinique 2001
|
 |
 |
|
Snorkeling with Serge Rolland on the East coast of New Caledonia 2003
|
Diving in Martinique 2001
|
