
Page 6 November 1978 No. 246 NEW YORK SHELL CLUB NOTES 
CYPRAEA TERAMACHTI Kuroda, 1938 
Robert Janowsky 
‘ : 3 llectors around the 
A favorite topic of discussion among Yee coll rare. 
: f some oO e species oO s family. 
world is the relative rarity 0 as to which is the rarest 
oft t. the question is brought up : 
species. ie do not expect to ever to be able to give a real answer 
to this question. ‘There are certainly many Cypraea of outstanding 
rarit not a few of which I have reported on in past issues of the 
NYSC They: One species, though, that is often overlooked as a 
possible contender for the title of "rarest" is Cypraea teramachii 
Kuroda, 1938. 
This very rare species seems to come from a very restricted range 
and from deep water. Burgess, in "The Living Coweries” (c. 1970 - 
A. S. Barnes & Co., Inc.), reports that this species has been re- 
corded only from the Kii Straits of Japan from an approximate depth 
of 70 fathoms. In 1974 T. C. Lan reported in the Bulletin of the 
Malacological Society of China (Vol. 1) that Cypraea teramachii has 
been taken from the Straits of Taiwan and from Northeast Taiwan as 
well. Lan observed that the species is “usually taken dead with 
dorsal pattern obliterated; one live specimen taken about every sev- 
en years" -- observations that, in my experience, seem to be accu- 
rate. (On April 10, 1978, a dead adult specimen 55mm in size was 
dredged south of New Caledonia by the Oceanographic Research Vessel 
"Vauban," at a depth of 390 - 395 meters. -- a new record for this 
species. 
Joyce Allan was apparently unable to study a specimen of Cypraea 
teramachii for her book "Cowry Shells of World Seas," first pub- 
Tished in 1956 by Charles T. Branford Co., as she states, "It would 
be interesting to see a specimen of it, but apparently it is ex- 
tremely rare." 
The illustrated specimen was collected in April, 1978, by a fishing 
boat operating at unreported depth off Ilan, northeast Taiwan. It 
measures 68mm over its length, has a maximum width of 43mm and a 
height of 34.3mm. The specimen is rather different in color from 
the specimen illustrated in Burgess (Plate 3, fig. E), which is a 
specimen from the collection of Mr. A. Teramachi. The specimen il- 
lustrated herewith is far lighter in color at the margins and darker 
on the dorsum than the Teramachi specimen; the dorsum of this speci- 
men is cream above the marginal line and changes to light tan speck- 
led irregularly with light orange at the central part of the dorsum. 
There is a dorsal "ring" of irregularly sized orange spots which 
separate the marginal areas (unspotted) from the dorsum. ‘The mar- 
gins are high and unspotted and generally peach colored. The base 
is cream colored near the j 
develhooat areas: aperture, changing to peach at the roundly 
The dentition of the columella consists of six w 
teeth near the posterior canal (strongest Pr asthe Bie: tke ies gs 
canal). The middle teeth are so weakly produced as to be almost ab- 
sent. There are twelve teeth more strongly produced than those at 
the posterior canal near the anterior end -- the terminal teeth are 
eroin the strongest. Dentition on the labial side consists of thir- 
y-two well developed teeth -- again, those in the middle of the lip 
