Dear Kev and Paul,

I agree that the shell is that of Brechites veitchi B. J. Smith, 1971.  It
is incredibly large! Kev listed 167 mm., and Smith (1971, 1976) was in the
same ballpark.  I have a 260 mm. specimen, and your shell measures 310 mm.
The differences among all these illustrated shells is the length of the
tube.  Its lack of fluting at the end of the siphonal tube is distinctive
among the LARGE members of the family (B. attrahens (Lightfoot, 1786) [syn.
B. vaginifer (Lamarck, 1818)], its subspecies B. a. australis (Chenu,
1843), and Humphreya gigantea (G. B. Sowerby III, 1888), which latter
species seldom reaches the size of your B. veitchi.

Harry


At 04:52 PM 5/12/00 +1000, you wrote:
>Hi Paul
>
>I dont know any specimen of Brechites giganteus from Australia,  I think the
>species you have is Brechites veitchi Smith, 1971. This and the other known
>Brechites and Clavagella are figured and described in Bivalves of
Australia Vol
>2.
>
>Cheers Kev

Harry G. Lee
Suite 500
1801 Barrs St.
Jacksonville, FL 32204
USA   904-384-6419
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Visit the Jacksonville Shell Club Home Page at:
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