On flank of sea-wall, 50cm upon low tide level, in crevice. |
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22mm. The crevices that meander under the causeway,the caries excavated by the sea in the stone-work, offer excellent shelters to various Gastropods. Unfortunately, a shell collector has not the right equipment to penetrate so far within the wall: we lack tentacles. Many shells that live here show traces of scars; fallen stones, crabs? |
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T. testa imperforata conica livia lævi, anfractibus subcarinatis. Habitat in M. Mediterraneo & Europæo. Testa, exuta tunica extima, plumbea evadit. Turriti umbilico exserto, qui positi cadunt in latus. (Linnæus, Systema Naturæ X, Vermes, Testacea, Trochus, n.520 p.759). |
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33mm Sting Winkle. Quite dark for the species. As expected, size increases with depth. |
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Linnæus placed this species in the genus Murex. Erinaceus. 451. M. testa multifariam subfrondoso-spinosa, spiræ anfractibus retuso-coronatis, cauda abbreviata. Habitat in M. Mediterraneo. Varicosi : suturis rotundatis torosis crassisque. Syst. Nat. X / Vermes / Testacea / n.451 p.748. There is also a B. erinaceus in 390 p.736. |
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Freak 36mm specimen from the same crevice. |
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"Quasimodo, objet du tumulte, se tenait toujours sur la porte de la chapelle, debout, sombre et grave, se laissant admirer." V. Hugo: N.D. de Paris, 1831. In human beings, beauty makes everything. Ocenebras do not have this bondage, and spawn by dozens together. Hopefully, such distorted shells remain rare. |