Dear friends I would say that large specimens of conus of virtually any species do occur and are not necessary rare, although of course extremely large (or extremely small) specimens are unusual in general. Another very different story is how many of these large specimens are in fine condition for the specimen shell market. I have found many large to very large specimens of west African conus such as venulatus, psudonivifer, pulcher, etc...the larger they get the worse is their condition: scars, erosion, natural damage here and there. ON the other end, it is well-known that younger specimens (not necessarily immature specimens) are in general better preserved, with brighter colors, and much more eye-appealing than gerontic beasties. So my opinion is that larger specimens of conus are not necesarily rare. Large specimens in mint condition certainly are. IN relation to this matter, I would mention that I have heard that conus (I don't know about other molluscs) haven't "caducity" date. This means that they would be expected to live very very long in the presence of adequate supply of food and in the absence of natural enemies or dangers from the natural environment. This implies that in nature, all conus either have violent deaths one way or the other, or live forever! If someone has more information on this fact, I would be glad to hear, since I am not able to locate the precise source for this information. Warmest regards to all Manuel Jimenez Tenorio ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------