G'day Bob,

I have some experience with Cypraea aurantium (Golden Cowrie) as i have 5
in my collection including a 97cm near Gem one we found on our recent trip
to Espirito Santo in Northern Vanuatu (on a dive in 12m of water on a coral
reef, very lucky find!).

The one you mentioned on eBay is quite a small specimen, plus there is no
data. Fairly cheap price. The actual shell looks to be in very good
condition for a Golden cowrie, I have no reason to think that the base
picture is a different shell to the one with the dorsum shot. If you look
carefully you will see the faint line of the shell side in the base shot
and it's actually wider/ more inflated than what you think when you first
look at the image.

I'd ask for location data before I bidded.


Best of luck,
Simon



On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 10:44:04 +1000, Bob Dayle <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>A question for any with 'hands-on' experience with Golden cowries.
>
>I came across an auction on eBay featuring a Golden Cowry. It seems to
have a
>beautiful dorsum but the view of the base simply cannot be that of the
shell
>which appears in the dorsal image, IMHO.
>
>Since I have only held two Golden Cowries (once each), are there any CONCH-
L
>experts who might explain how the two images at
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6524823825
>can be of the same cowry?
>
>The seller has assured me that they are the same shell, yet I remain
>unconvinced. The shell in the dorsal image is quite inflated, without
produced
>extremities. The shell in the basal image has extended anterior and
posterior
>extremities.
>
>Have I missed something very obvious or are these images of two separate
shells?
>
>Aloha,
>
>Bob Dayle
>
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