Richard,
Nice set of photos you posted. Regarding your specimens, the larger are certainly magus, I believe they are the subspecies "fucatus". Looking over specimens in my own collection the shells are nearly identical. They start off generally as a solid color usually pink or olive green, and form patterning by adult stage in most cases. Many of the adult specimens in my collection are rarely over 30-35mm, and are heavily colored in pink/olive green and browns, sometimes all in one shell. In nearly all specimens the spire and apex is bright pink.
I wouldnt be surprised however if you didnt have a few axelrodi mixed in with the juvenile specimens.
The larger specimen of 56mm you collected is also magus, most likely another subform.
In my opinion, the magus group is one of the most easily confusing species because they are extremely variable. Some named subspecies are pretty standard and do not change much at all, but others are not and can have wild and complexing patterns even tho they are the same species.
Regards, Lyle Therriault
-----Original Message-----
>From: Richard Parker <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Nov 22, 2009 3:59 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [CONCH-L] Small 'Conus magus'
>
>I have put together two composite photographs of the 'small pinkies'
>developing into 'Conus magus'
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/28722516@N02/4123579753/
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/28722516@N02/4123579585/
>(Apologies for the poor editing)
>
>I hope these explain themselves (No 6 is where they appear tc change over)
>from a totally pink shell to a larger brown and white colouration, with
>brown maculations on the spire, and granulated spiral coils (very strong in
>no 17).
>
>No 17 is one of the largest of this type that I have collected here. I have
>another (32mm) very beach-washed, but that's all.
>
>Except that, just today, I found another shell in my collection that
>resembles some of the 'small cones' that are so abundant:
>http://www.flickr.com/photos/28722516@N02/4125164819/
>
>But, as you can see, it doesn't really resemble the smaller ones very much.
>It entirely lacks the granulated spiral cords and bright colours. But it
>does have the pink spire.
>
>Am I seeing one species, or two?
>
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Lyle Therriault,
Property Manager
Cone Shell Collector
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