Collectible Specimen - Marine Sea Shell From Mexico - Sea...

Oliva Porphyria (Linnaeus, 1758) Family: Olividae – Subfamily: Olivinae – Genus: Oliva Author: Linnaeus, 1758 Origin: Baja California, Mexico Size: 84 mm Shell morphology General shape – Cylindro-ovate, with a rounded shoulder and a strongly plicate columella; lateral profile slightly ventricose. Background coloration – Ivory-pink with faint violaceous shading in the subcolumellar area. Ornamental pattern – Reticulated zigzag in dark cocoa brown arranged in irregular diagonal bands (characteristic of the “porphyrite ornament” from which the specific name derives). The scheme appears mirror-like on both sides and leaves clearer window areas well defined. Nocturnal predator of small polychaetes and crustaceans. During the day it remains semi-buried in the sand; at night it actively emerges by crawling thanks to a very developed foot. Reproduction is oviparous; eggs are laid in gelatinous masses attached to the substrate. Specimen with natural vitreous luster, free of abrasions and with the pattern sharply contrasted: grade “gem” on collectors’ quality scales. General distribution Western Indo-Pacific (Philippines–Polynesia Sea) and the eastern sector of the tropical Pacific (Baja California Sur–Peru); rather rare in the Atlantic

Estimate:£126.3

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