Hello Conch-L,
I am hoping that someone can give me some information on the following shells
from my collection.  I have more cone shells than any other single family,
about 60 in all.  But there are several that I have not been able to locate in
my various books.  I am hoping that someone can tell me if these shells are
correctly named, and if any of them are uncommon species.  Also i am listing a
few murex shells that I am not sure abvout.  Here are my mystery shells (well
some of them anyway).
- Murex bicolor (no author name listed) - whitish on outside, with some small
pink areas, pink inside, 105 mm, short spines, more like pointy bumps, from
Mazatalan, Mexico.  Similar to Murex erythrostomus in my books, which is also
found in Mexico - could it be a form of that species?
- Murex saxatilis L. - shaped somewhat like the Murex bicolor, but smaller and
darker in color, banded with light and dark brown, with dark pink inside the
mouth of the shell.  Small spines around the outer edge of the whorls.  the
spines are hollow inside, 82 mm, from Gabon
- Murex salebrosa King. - dark brownish with long raised ridges, the inside is
white with raised bumps like teeth on the outside edge of the mouth, 52 mm
long, comes from Cape Blanco CR(?)
-Murex andivia Lamarck - quite spiny, spines are curved and up to 30 mm in
length.  Shell is 68 mm in length, dark, almost black, with  two bands of
white.  Locality is ‘Bataan’.
- Murex pinnatus - slender white shelll with thin ribbed ridges sticking out
on both sides and on top.  A really beautiful shell, all white.  The mouth if
the shell is small.  The spire end is tall and sharp pointed, and the other
end is like a slender curved tube.  From Formosa (I guess that is Taiwan now?)
-Conus obesus Hwass - kind of short and heavy, lots of dark markings crowded
together all over, but no real pattern.  Measures 38 mm.  from Andaman Isls.
-  Conus arachnodes Gn. - quite large cone shell with small lines and blotches
of black all over.  It has an operculum, if that helps.  78 mm, from Andaman
Isls.
- Conus cinereus (no author listed) - slender gray color with a few lighter
markings, and very shiny surface, 42 mm, from Philippines
-Conus lignarius Rve. - rather thins and light weight, medium browen color,
with very fine encicling ridges all over, 45 mm form Philippines
-Conus interruptus (no author listed) - off white with rows of small  dots all
over, enclrcling the shell, 32 mm, shiny, from Western Mexico
- Conus glacus (no author) - short fat species, dark gray with a few rows of
dark dots encircling, 38 mm, from Philippines
-Conus concinnus (no author) - small shell, shiny dark brown with a few small
light markings, spire quite tall, 31 mm, from Taboga, Panama
- Conus pyriformis Rve. - light yellowish tan all over, rather fat at the
spire end, but getting slender toward the other end, with a series of rounded
bumps around the base of the spire, and fine ridges encircling the smaller end
of the shell, 51 mm, form Panama
Well i hope this is not too much.  But these are all the cone shells i am not
able to find.  So if anyone can help me with even one of them, It would be a
great help.  Thank-you.
Sincerely,
Linda Mason