Identification of some Exotic Shells

Howdy guys!!!!
As promised, I started IDing some of the shells that the anonymous donor gave me. Most of them are from the Indo-Pacific.
This was much harder, as I'm not familiar AT ALL with shells from that side of the world. But, who doesn't love a challenge? We all do. :D

Let's start with the cowries....

 

 

First up, the Eyed Cowrie. These guys are from the Indo-Pacific and their habitat consists of coral reefs. Named for the dots and splotches on the top of the shell that resemble "eyes".

 

 

The Tiger Cowrie also lives in the Indo Pacific. They are fairly common and well-known. You can find lots of these in tourist shops. If you look closely, you can see a faint, chestnut-colored line at the right of that shell. This line indicates where the edges of the mollusks mantle meet.

 

I always thought that the bottom side of Cowrie shells looked like a grin. Although, as you saw this shell is spotted, all-black specimens have been found. As well as giant specimens that were bigger than the standard 3.5 inch size.

 

Moving on from cowries, we come to the Spider Conch. This is the Arthritic Spider Conch that is found in East Africa. It resembles the Chiragra Spider Conch of the Indo- Pacific but is much smaller. It's 6 inches long, while the Chiragra Spider Conch is 10 inches long.

 

These mollusks also inhabit coral reefs. They are found fairly often.

 

Another Conch- yet this one can be found closer to home. The West Indian Fighting Conch. It looks similar to the Florida Fighting Conch as you will see in the next picture, but it is found further south, in the Carribean.

A comparison of the Fighting Conch. Florida Fighting Conch on the top, West Indian Fighting Conch on the bottom.

 

As you can see, the main difference is the whorls or knobs. The knobs of the West Indian Fighting Conch are much sharper and more pronounced, than of its Floridian counterpart.

 

The Clear Sundial. This mollusk is found in the Indo-Pacific. It has a low spire, and a flat base. It lives in the sand in shallow water.

 

And that is all for today, my friends. I have many more shells and fossils that I need to ID. So I need to go and get that done.

 

See y'all later,

Yaroshelllava :D