David
I have seen a few Cymatium parthenopeum while diving, but only ever one
intertidally. It was also sitting out in the open on an intertidal sand flat
at Merimbula in southern New South Wales, Australia, at night.
It was a pretty grotty worn old shell but quite an amazing animal

Geoff


>From: David Kirsh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: funny how you find the best shell in the 1st 10 minutes
>Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 00:16:09 -0700
>
>I went to Shackleford Island, next to Cape Lookout, NC, today. It's known
>for some good shelling but I hadn't been there.
>
>There were a lot of large broken Busycon carica and Cassis madagascariensis
>spinella on the beach where I landed.
>
>I wasn't sure if Cassis is found near shore in NC but they must be since
>there's no deep water surrounding Shackleford that I can tell. Maybe I'd
>find one in wading depths or maybe a Pandora trilineata or a live Tellidora
>cristata. Just one new shell, that's all I was asking.
>
>I didn't encounter any of the ones I believed might be there.
>
>I was checking out the clumps left on the sandflat and found some smallish
>Busycon carica. Saw a small clump of seaweed (I thought) fully exposed on
>the sand. Closer up it looked like the flared lip of a Strombus. S. alatus?
>
>When I turned it over--a perfect Cymatium parthenopeum! What a beautiful
>animal too.
>
>I didn't know it could be found not only in shallow water in NC but on the
>exposed sandflat.
>
>I'd seen only a lip fragment of one on Wrightsville Beach and thought it
>must be from some depth or possibly fossil. I thought such critters were
>hopelessly out of reach (for me) in NC out at the wrecks off Cape Hatteras
>in 80 to 100 feet of water.
>
>I didn't have my camera with me but I scanned this guy as soon as I got
>home
>if anyone is interested in seeing what he or she looks like. Please e-mail
>me privately at [log in to unmask]
>
>David Kirsh
>Durham, NC


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