Quite a number of cases are known of barnacles encapsulated on the dorsum of
Cowries, so it is possible that also other marine creatures may attach
themselves occasionally to live cowries.

Henk K. Mienis

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----- Original Message -----
From: "bivalve" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2002 6:37 PM
Subject: Re: Do calcareous deposits occur on live cowrie shells?


> It could be hard to rule out the possibility of something managing to
attach itself while a shell was alive, even on smooth-shelled taxa that
presumably have the mantle covering the shell much of the time.  I have a
fossil Aurinia with medium-sized barnacles attached to the dorsal side.  The
barnacles are largely covered by additional shell deposits, so they
obviously settled while the snail was alive.  However, Aurinia is not quite
so glossy as a Cypraea, and the photos of live volutes usually have more
shell exposed than do live cypraeids.
>
>     Dr. David Campbell
>     Old Seashells
>     University of Alabama
>     Biodiversity & Systematics
>     Dept. Biological Sciences
>     Box 870345
>     Tuscaloosa, AL  35487 USA
>     [log in to unmask]
>
> That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted
Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at
Droitgate Spa
>
>