Aloha Forum,
One possible explanation is the colder water temperature. Take the
Humpback Cowry, Cypraea mauritiana Linnaeus, 1758, a common Indo-Pacific
species. In it's range Hawaii tends to be farthest from the Equator & thus
has the coolest water temperatures. Organisms tend to take longer to reach
sexual maturity in cooler temperatures but will often reach larger matured
sizes in some aquatic species. This is purely speculation as i'm not aware
of any molluscan studies conducted on temperature vs size ratios outside
of Abalone farming.

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