Page 6 April 1980 No. 261 NEW YORK SHELL CLUB NOTES 
CYPRAEA LISETAE Kilburn, 1975 
Robert H. Janowsky . 
he Cypraeidae is, unques- 
0 f the very rarest of the members of t : j 
tidhably, Hi ps aha species which was first descr if! Kilburn 
on April 15th, 1975 in the Durban Museum Novitates Vol. X, part 16, 
p. 217. So rarely is this shell encountered that the specimen here 
illustrated is one of only two specimens that I have ever wis and 
which are, most probably at this moment, the only representatives 
of this species in this country. Ser gan nee oie Tne 
i e is closely alile a mid- 
tion states that Cypraea liseta Gicneial astesaiesulel 5 ent 
wayensis Azuma and Kurohara ev? S t e 
characteristics in common with Cc. midwayensis but, surprisingly, 
no mention is made of the greater Similarity between C. lisetae and 
C. mauiensis Burgess, 1967. I have compared this specimen of Cy- 
Pp mauiensis and two more very closely related 
raea lisetae to Cypraea 
eet 3S, Cypr rta Dillwyn, 1817 and Cypraea cicercula Linné 
species, raea margarita Di yn, ae oare and 
1758, and found that in its structure, shape of its aperture, 
tooth development and formation, it differs from but certainly is 
closely akin to C. mauiensis. Unfortunately I was not at this time 
able to study a specimen of C. midwayensis, but study of the origi- 
nal description (VENUS, Vol. 26, no. 1, 1967) reveals that there 
are distinct similarities between C. lisetae and C. midwayensis 
(most notably their shape), but that there are fewer differences 
between C. lisetae and the other three species I earlier referred 
to (mauiensis, margarita, cicercula) which can be thought of as the 
Cypraea cicercula "complex." I do not infer by my use of the term 
“complex” that the term "complex" denotes a taxonomic entity. It 
is a term that I use as a convenient catchall to encompass a group 
of species and/or subspecific entities showing markedly and consis- 
tently similar characteristics, but which are usually treated as 
separate taxa. 
Cypraea lisetae is a very small species -- the specimen that I have 
examined measures just a small bit more than 12mm. Both the holo- 
type and the paratype are slightly larger, 13.3 and 12.6mm respec- 
tively. To date the species has not been found alive, but is col- 
lected ex pisce from waters off southern Mogambique in the area 
between Inhaca Island and Ponta Zavora. But, as Kilburn wisely 
points out in his description, it is really of little use estab- 
lishing an exact locality for the species until such time as it is 
discovered in a living state. Dr. Ronald Plotkin of Johannesburg, 
South Africa, a noted Cypraea collector, has estimated that there 
are, most probably, no more than fifteen specimens now known of this 
rare little species.* Plotkin has two specimens in his collection, 
one of which is 14mm -- apparently the largest specimen found. 
As can easily be seen in the accompanyin hotogr has 
a very rounded globular shape and well produced canals. Although 
ex oe the specimen has its natural gloss and is in a remarkable 
state of preservation. The overall color of the dorsum is light 
caramel with a somewhat darker orange/brown blotch-like and rather 
indistinct band near the mid-dorsum. This band is not readily evi- 
dent in the photographic plates of the paratype and holotype that 
are part of the original description. The shell's Canals are faint- 
ly outlined with the same darker color and one dark spot is present 
*Personal communication, February 1980. 

