Howdy campers,

On my recent trip to George Town in the Exumas*, I found what I thought was a
Typhis triangularis. But it was a bigger than the ones I remembered from the
Abacos, and prettier. Looking at it, I wondered, why had I turned my nose up
at them?

But the ones in the Abacos were little webby things. This, while small, was
large enough to appreciate, 25mm. It's like no shell I'd ever found and has
elegant frilled growth varices and spines that are hollow tubes with open
ends.

I finally got around to looking it up in the Compendium and discovered it is
a Pinnate typhis; Pterotyphis pinnatus. (Does pinnatus mean feathered?) Not
rare like the triangularus, merely uncommom. But gorgeous. A treasure. And
mine is nicer than the one in the Compendium.

I take it out of the case. I roll it around on my palm. I gloat over it. I'm
smitten.

WHO decides what is rare and what is uncommon? I'd never seen one of these
before! What is the difference, frequency-wise? On my trip to the Abacos with
the Cordys, I found two triangularis and Jim Cordy found two. So, in my
limited experience, they are more common!  ; )

Ellen

*The prettiest place in the Bahamas.