Conch-Lers -
 
I would like to discuss the question that was raised by Martin Tremor.  He
asked whether or not Cymatium raderi occurs in the Florida Keys.  Before I
answer that question I need to give you a little background.  
 
When I retired sixteen years ago, I offered my volunteer services to the
Delaware Museum of Natural History and I was assigned the job of checking
out the then-called Cymatiidae Family.  It is now called Ranellidae, asnd I
am still working on it.  One of the species that I had a problem with was
Cymatium raderi.  It was described by A. D'Attilio and B. Myers in 1984 in
an article named "A New Atlantic Species of Cymatium (Gastropoda:
Cymatiidae) in the Nautilus, 98(1):31-36,12 figs.
 
I would like to quote for you a portion of their paper:  "Comparison of the
new species with Cymatium femorale shows differences in the shape and
sculpture.  Cymatium raderi does not have the more clearly defined trigonal
shape of C. femorale, and the varicies are rounded rather than pointed at
the shoulder.  The extension of the varix in C. femorale rises spinelike
into a projection and slopes concavely to the suture.  In comparison the
varix of the new species is truncate most posteriorly and slopes convexly
and anteriorly from the suture.  The sculpture of C. raderi is much less
rugose, the spiral cords are broad and rounded between moderate to weak
depressions, and the intervarical areas are without prominent nodes.  The
spiral cords of C. femorale are raised between deep depressions to a
greater degree than in C. raderi; this is especially emphasized on the
varices where the stronger and heavier cords project into prominent nodes.
These nodes are white, both on the leading edge and also on the receding
edge of the varices.  C. raderi has less prominent nodes that are white
only on the leading edge of the varices.  The shoulders of the whorls in C.
femorale are angulate and they appear tabulate, while in C. raderi they are
very weakly angulate.  A prominent feature of C. femorale is the axially
oriented nodes on the spiral cords which in C. raderi are weak to absent.
There are no nodes or denticles within the aperture of C. femorale, while
the aperture of C. raderi is strongly dentate."  
It is also compared with Cymatium praefemorale (Maury, 19l7) a Tertiary
fossil from Santo Domingo, West Indies.
 
In summary it is stated that "the new species may be most readily
distinguished by the following characters; the truncate down-sloping
termination of the varices, the dentate aperture, the weaker spiral cords
and the lack of prominent intervarical axial nodes present on most
specimens of C. femorale and C. praefemorale."
 
Armed with this information, I then checked the following collections for
specimens labeled femorale and raderi:  
 
My own.
Delaware Museum of Natural History, Wilmington, DE.
American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY.
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, PA.
United States National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC.
The excellent private collection of Dr. Emilio Garcia, who has   
extensive Caribbean holdings with a particularly large number of specimens
from Honduras.
 
 
The specimens that I examined extended from the Bahamas down to 
Brazil.  At the northern end of the range the specimens were typical
femorale. At the southern end they were raderi.  But in between there were
intergrades - some specimens have only one or two of the differentiating
features.  As a result I concluded there is only one species - Cymatium
femorale, and raderi is a synonym. 
 
Martin, I have seen only one specimen of femorale from the Keys, but 
I am sure there have been others although it certainly is not common.  And
there was no question that it was a typical femorale.  It was found by my
grand daughter.  After I had done much oohing and ahing so she would know
she had found something special, she looked at me and said "I'd like to
give it to you, Grandmother, but I want to keep it for a little while
first. I know what, I'll give it to you in my will!"
 
Now I will sit back and wait for all the disagreeing comments that I am
sure will be coming my way.  But if we all agreed on everything, it would
be a pretty dull world, wouldn't it?    
 
Betty Jean, The Tall One
 
  
 
 
Betty Jean Piech    
Hockessin DE,USA
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_@/-The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.-\@_
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