Hi Everyone,

First of all, thanks for all the feedback on the photos of the
little Vexillum purpuratum and the red bubble shell.  I have
still not been able to get an ID on the bubble, but submitted
the photos (plus a photo of the shell itself) to Dr. Rudman
at the Sea Slug Forum.  He has listed it as "Bullina sp. #1"
and suggests that it may be a juvenile.  If you would like to
read his comments, and see a photo of the shell, try:

http://www.austmus.gov.au/seaslugs/bullisp1.htm#1810

I now have two more shells posted on the Conch-L images
page, thanks to our cold-weather friend, Ross Mayhew.  The
first one is a neat Epitonium that I collected in Tonga last
week.  Those of you with memories like Dr. Lee and a couple
of others on this list may remember a post from a few
years ago about a Samoan Epitonium that looked like a
"skinny pernobilis with fewer ribs."  This is the same shell.
Art, Lenny, and Bruce have already collaborated on this one,
and have agreed that it is Hirtoscala replicatum Sowerby, 1844.
If you like ep's it still may be work a look.

The second shell is a Mitra species, over an inch long, which
should make it simple to identify, but the identity has eluded
me.  When I first saw the shell I thought that I recognized it,
and went to my "Uncommon and New Mitriform Gastropods
of the Indo-Pacific.  Part 1" by Hans Turner.  I found the shell
I was thinking of on Pl. 3, #19, listed as "Scabricola species."
I decided that this was not it, though there were some similar-
ites, and next tried to make it a pale or faded M. aurora or an
odd M. ambigua.  I couldn't convince myself that it was either
of these.  It reminds me of M. imperialis, which is common
here, but it is obviously a different miter.  Either I've overlooked
this one in my references or it's not in any of them.  With all
the knowledgeable miter people on this list, I'm sure one of
you will be able to identify the peachy-orange shell.

http://www.geocities.com/conchlimages/Barclay.html

By the way, we found a lot of neat stuff in Tonga, and I'll be
posting a few more images from there as I get the shells
cleaned.  Finds of the trip: a near-world-record Strombus
peruvianus, and a Struthiolaria papulosus, both crabbed
but on opposite ends of the island group.  Think those two
over!!!!

Cheers,



Don