Great images! I forgot about your article. I was checking all our drawers for other fluorescent
species when I noticed some Cerion did glow. Some species do not glow at all when I saw just one
specimen glowing in a box with many others. The shell was very close looking to the others, but when
I checked carefully it was another species from other box!

Marcus

A few years ago I wrote an article for American Conchologist on this
subject.  Since the subject has come up again, I thought some of our members
who have joined us since that time might like to see some of the photos from
that article, so have posted some of them online. Each image shows, at the
top, a group of shells photographed with ordinary white light, and below,
the same shells photographed under ultraviolet light. Each group includes
some shells that exhibit fluorescence, and some that don't.  I don't have
time right now to provide a list of all the shells, but can do that later if
anyone would like to see it. I can also provide the text of the article if
anyone would like to read it.

http://members.cox.net/natura/LURIPULC.jpg
http://members.cox.net/natura/MARGPECT.jpg
http://members.cox.net/natura/MEGABULL.jpg

Here's a puzzle - two bivalves of the same species, from the same lot, one
fluorescent and the other non-fluorescent:
http://members.cox.net/natura/ACTECLANC.jpg
Cypraea stercoraria and C. mappa:
http://members.cox.net/natura/STERCMAPPA.jpg
Cypraea thersites, C. mappa, C. venusta:
http://members.cox.net/natura/THERMAPPVENU.jpg
A Cypraea mappa held in my hand:
http://members.cox.net/natura/MAPPA.jpg
One interesting discovery is that some shells that appear white under white
light also fluoresce white under UV, while other white shells do not
fluoresce:
http://members.cox.net/natura/WHITEFLUOR.jpg


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