Hi Sarah,
 
In the late 60's, Maria Schilder wrote a very interesting paper titled
"Length, Breadth, and Dentition in Living Cowries" published in the Veliger
Vol. 9; No.4.  She provides statistics on over 100,000 cowries she and her
husband measured.  The range given for Cypraea (Lyncina) lynx (Linneaus,
1758) is between 30mm and 41mm (median = 35mm).  This is based on measuring
2,991 shells!
 
Two more recent references are:
 
Registry of World Record Size Shells by Hutsell & Pisor which lists a small
record of 22.5mm and a large record of 85.0 for a shell in the Paris Museum.
 
A Guide to Worldwide Cowries by Lorenz & Hubert which lists a range of 18mm
to 90mm. (Same as Burgess reported in 1985)  No information is available on
where specimens are located reaching these extremes.
 
I have shells in my own collection ranging in size from 23mm to 65mm and
have seen shells over 70mm for sale.
 
I think the great majority  of shells are in the 30-40mm range, but mature
shells on either end of the bell curve are around.
 
Suspect the economic incentive to find exceptional shells of any cowry -
even one as "common" as lynx - may have spurred the discovery of new
collecting grounds and brought more exceptional specimens into the arena
since data for many of the popular references were gathered.
 
Bill Fenzan
Norfolk, Virginia, USA
 
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-----Original Message-----
From: Sarah Watson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, March 28, 1999 1:58 PM
Subject: Cypraea lynx question
 
 
>I was looking at one of the new shells I just received and I have one
little
>question about a specimen labeled "Cypraea lynx ( L. 1758) " The specimen I
>have measures 63.75 mm in length. What I am confused about is the size
given
>in several books.
>
>Compendium lists it as 4 cm (40 mm), Standard Catalog lists it as 50 mm,
and
>"Cowries" by Taylor and Walls lists it as 42 mm.
>
>I have two other specimens that I have ID'd as C. lynx and they fall into
this
>size range (34.7 mm and 38.65 mm) Besides the size, the dorsal side of the
>specimen in question is a solid light blue color with very little mottling.
>The only thing that I see as IDing it as C. lynx is the teeth being bright
>orange and the shape of the columella and aperture fits the pictures of all
>that I have seen.
>
>Now my question, is this little (big) guy really lynx because of the size,
a
>different variety of lynx, or is it something totally different?
>
>Lost as usual
>Sarah Watson
>