I must be hallucinating.  Too much cowry cleaning, not
enough proofreading.

 That last e-mail was poorly worded.  What I meant to say:

 Thanks again for the info, David.  I can personally vouch for the
 shells being larger as you get farther from the equator.  This is
 particularly true of the Cypraea.  All of the cowries, with the
 possible exception of Cypraea lynx, are larger in Vava'u, Tonga
 than in Samoa.  In fact, I've found examples of four different
 species in American Samoa that are smaller than the listed
 world records.

 Here's an amateurish question for you:  What conchological
 characteristics would cause SULCOcypraea to be considered
 ovulids?  I just dug out all of my ovulids and Jenneria, and
 I don't see any obvious characteristics

 OF SULCOCYPRAEA VAUGHANI

 that would make me
 say, "Hey, this ain't no cowry..."  The folds on the anterior
 tip of Sulcocypraea do look somewhat like the other ovulids,
 and the "fossular area" isn't exactly like the cypraea, but
 it's not much like the other ovulids either.  Is this what sets
 them apart?

 Thanks for the education,



 Don



 >
 > I believe Sulcocypraea is currently considered an ovulid, despite its
 > cowry-like appearance.  It is more common than Cypraeorbis in the Gulf
 > Coast Eocene and also occurs in the Eocene silicified fauna near
 > Orangeburg, S.C.
 >
 > Incidentally, the Gulf Coast Eocene faunas are typically a lot smaller than
 > those in the limestones in the Carolinas and Florida.  Not sure if this is
 > gigantism or dwarfism.
 >
 > The gigantism in mollusks at the cold end of their ranges has been
 > attributed to a lack of suitable breeding conditions.  The energy that
 > would be put into reproduction is put into growth instead.  However,
 > Florida and mid to outer shelf of the Carolinas was probably warmer rather
 > than colder than the Gulf.
 >
 >
 > David Campbell
 >