The Volutes and Melon Shells 



One worn specimen was the only material Lamarck had 

 when he described this species. Three bright, perfect specimens 

 in England were accessible to Reeve in 1850. They came from 

 the east coast of Africa, but nobody knows what locality. 



The Large-spired Volute (F. megaspira, Sby.) is slender 

 and fusiform, with smooth convex whorls, ending in a papillary 

 apex. Zigzag streaks of chestnut paint a pinkish tawny ground. 

 The aperture is small, ear-shaped, with pinkish lining. 



This Japanese species is used for food. It is about 4 inches 

 long. The shell is rare in collections. 



The Junonia Volute (K. Junonia, Chemn.) is a rare species, 

 confined to deep water, and found nowhere but on the east and 

 west coasts of Florida. It has a slim ovate or spindle form, 

 with a long aperture and short, pointed spire. The creamy 

 surface is covered with spiral rows of squarish orange spots 

 which follow the whorl deep into the shell. The columella has 

 four sharp oblique folds. The lip is thin and lined with white. 



This is the "Peacock Tail Volute" of Reeve. The American 

 collectors fondly call this precious shell "Junonia." The pos- 

 sessor of a perfect specimen with its spots still dark and bright 

 is to be congratulated. Once the demand for these shells was 

 so great and the supply so short that a perfect specimen of good 

 size would sell for |2oo. Naturally, collectors searched diligently 

 for them. Though by no means abundant, yet they may be had 

 now at from |i.oo to $30.00, according to size and condition. 



The island of Sanibel, a reef on the west coast of Florida, 

 is classic ground for conchologists, so large is the number of 

 moUuscan genera and species represented. It seems to be the 

 meeting ground of the Atlantic and Panama faunas, suggesting 

 that far oflf time when no intervening land separated these now 

 dissevered regions. 



On Sanibel one may confidently look for Junonias. They 

 are supposed to live in water off shore, but dredges are not effective 

 tools to capture rock-loving mollusks. When the northwester 

 comes down across the Gulf, churning the sea to its rocky depths, 

 a Junonia may be unexpectedly flung ashore, and buried in sand. 

 The morning after such a storm the Floridians and the concholog- 

 ical aliens in their midst go forth to gather the spoils of the gale. 

 The sophisticated native digs in the sand drift on a shore line 

 which has faced the storm, and he is oftenest and best rewarded. 



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