Henk:

I agree with your theory in some instances because I have a huge Cassis cornuta that I purchased that has never had even a trace of odor and has a true rattle like a bit of shell or rubble trapped inside, but in this case, there is odor so she knows there is still a piece of the animal inside.

Also, in my previous instruction, I wasn't very clear about "putting it upside down" with the alcohol inside--I meant for you to place it with the anteriorl canal up so the alcohol would be trapped in the far posterior reaches of the shell.

Debbie Duval
>>> mienis <[log in to unmask]> 3/27/2007 7:11 AM >>>
Dear ConchLers,

No, this is not a receipt how to clean a Cassis, because I've no experience in it, however, I like to remind the collector that even completely cleaned specimens of Cassis may produce a rattling sound as if still material is trapped inside.

Already Tucker Abbott (1968: 47) wrote about it that often pieces of coral, a stone or a shell may become trapped within the umbilicus, which is in the beginning open but later on it may be completely closed.
I remember also a note in Hawaiian Shell News that the contents of the umbilicus may sometimes be an indication of the depth or habitat in which it was living once.

So, if the Cassis continues to make a noise when shaking it but does not smell foul anymore, stop cleaning or spoiling it because those trapped pieces will be there for ever.

Abbott, R.T., 1968. The Helmet shells of the World (Cassidae). Part 1. Indo-Pacific Mollusca, 2 (9): 15-202.

Success!

Henk K. Mienis

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