Shells of South
East Queensland

Tweed Heads to Noosa
Cypraeidae

Talparia talpa

(Linnaeus, 1758)
Shell: medium, solid, elliptical to sub-cylindrical, ranging from 56-68 mm. Spire concealed. Teeth: 32 columellar teeth; 36 labral teeth. Sculpture: smooth, porcelaneous. Exterior colour yellow to fawn crossed by four darker transverse bands; base and margins black to dark brown; interstices between teeth are pale .


Specimens

Hutchinson,  Australia
 Size: 56.8mm    Collected: 1999
found two specimens, one alive and one dead. dead: shell crushed in many fragments- eaten by something

Swains Reef,  Australia
 Size: 68.1mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected by diver.
Coral Bay, Western Australia,  Australia
 Size: 73.42mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from Under large slabs of limestone on flat limestone substrate with strong current at 8-10 m by scuba diver. Collected by Hugh Morrison
 Dark, banded shells. Rare from WA,
Christmas Island,  Christmas Islands
 Size: 62.86mm    Collected: Unknown
No data. Dead collected
Rare location.
General Store,  Solomon Islands
 Size: 61.1mm    Collected: 1999
Found dead in cave under the reef. Decomposing animal was still inside, must have been dead for a week or two. in 5m of water.
Madang,  Papua New Guinea
 Size: 63.2mm    Collected: 1983
No data.
Port Moresby,  Papua New Guinea
 Size: 57.04mm    Collected: 1984
bought from villagers
Rabaul- Old,  Papua New Guinea
 Size: 57.81mm    Collected: 2005
Collected by scuba diver.

forma: saturata  Duatzenberg, 1903
Nadroga,  Fiji
 Size: 62.84mm    Collected: 1965
Collected from Amongst boulders on shallow reef at 2-3 m at night. Collected by Unknown collector November 1965
forma: lewallorum  Lorenz, 2015
Niue,  Niue
 Size: 29.17mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from beach drift on a narrow cove by hand [low tide]. Dead collected Collected by Hugh Morrison
Lombok Island,  Indonesia
 Size: 62.5mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected at 3-5 m by scuba diver. Collected by Local fishermen
forma: lewallorum  
Cebu Island, Cebu, Visayas,  Philippines
 Size: 41.17mm    Collected: 2000
Collected from under coral slab on shallow reef by scuba diver. Dead collected Collected by Unknown collector May 2000
Cebu, Cebu, Visayas,  Philippines
 Size: 86.71mm    Collected: 1996
Collected from Under coral slab on coral reef at 10 m by scuba diver. Collected by Unknown collector 1996
Punta Engaño, Cebu, Visayas,  Philippines
 Size: 57.81mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected at 6 m.
Rare colour form.
Ranong,  Thailand
 Size: 79.53mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from deepwater by Thai prawn trawlers.
Very light shell.
forma: lewallorum  Lorenz, 2015
Palawan Island, Luzon,  Philippines
 Size: 43.71mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected at 8-10 m by Hookah diver. Dead collected Collected by Local divers
Takeoka, Chiba Prefecture,  Japan
 Size: 64.43mm    Collected: 1995
No data. Dead collected Collected by Unknown collector October 1995
 Rare location.
Troux-Au-Biches,  Mauritius
 Size: 67.15mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from under large dead coral slabs at 15-20 m by scuba diver.
Very black base.
Nacala Bay,  Mozambique
 Size: 50.56mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from sand and rubble at 15-25 m by scuba diver at night.
Rare from this location
forma: imperialis  F. A. Schilder & M. Schilder, 1938
Zanzibar Island,  Tanzania
 Size: 65.28mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from sand and rubble by hand [low tide]. Collected by Local divers
 Rare from this location
forma: rundorum  Bridges
Oahu, Hawaii,  United States Of America
 Size: 71.65mm    Collected: 1971
Collected from Under corals on Reef at 20-25 m by scuba diver. Dead collected Collected by Tom Richert October 1971
Asau,  Western Samoa
 Size: 42.2mm    Collected: Unknown
Collected from under dead coral slabs at 1-3 m.

forma: vivida  Bridges
Point Motumano,  Marquesas Islands
 Size: 67.1mm    Collected: 2000
Collected from among rocks and rubble at 5-10 m by scuba diver. Collected by Hugh Morrison October 2000
 Very rare from this location
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