Richard Parker wrote:
> I am just looking at the only Conus violaceus I have ever found, from a
> beach in Zamboanga, Philippines. Its dorsum is perfect, but there is a
> large hole on the ventrum, and the interior coils (except for the last one)
> are entirely missing. It's not much good as a specimen shell, but as an
> example of resorption, it's excellent.
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/28722516@N02/4111783543/

* all this about resorption of inner whorls in Cones reminds me of my
discovery of this phenomenon when I was in the 5th grade, in 1959, when
an Aunt had given us a bagful of shells from Florida, and I decided to
hitch sandpaper disks to an old vacuum cleaner motor and grind into
Gastropod shells to see their inner coils. This produced vast quantities
of shell dust (we had very tolerant parents), and one of the most
striking things that was revealed was the glass-like inner coils of the
Cones.

Unfortunately my teacher appreciate the idea of isomorphic growth: my
first introduction to the fallibility of educational personnel.

fred.
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            Bishops Mills Natural History Centre
          Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
       RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
    on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
      (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca
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