Updated May 6!

Lately I have been exploring the interesting phenomenon of autofluorescence in cowries under ultraviolet (UV) radiation. I am preparing a rather detailed report on some of my findings which I will feature in the very near future. There have already been some interesting reports made about fluorescent seashells in some of the popular shell venues. I intend to produce a nice picture gallery which will show some of the hidden beauty of cowries which only becomes evident when viewed under UV light. One species of cowry which I haven't seen mentioned in the literature as autofluorescent is Eclogavena coxeni coxeni (Cox 1873). This week's featured cowry photo is a very large 27.1 mm GEM specimen showing the beautiful pink-peach color of the margins and canals (the base also fluoresces), only visible under UV light (370-375 nm). Click on the small photo to view larger!

The response to my gallery of the genus Cribrarula Strand 1929 continues to be great! I am currently working on getting more galleries prepared. Cowries are a difficult subject to photograph well and I extend a very warm thank you to everyone who has visited this site and given so much positive feedback.
Please Visit the Crib Gallery!

This weeks cowry photo!

Selected cowries from my collection

Below are some pictures of cowries currently in my collection. I'm working on getting my galleries put together but in the meantime I thought some of you might enjoy looking at some of my favorite specimens. Click on the thumbnail pictures for a larger view. Thanks for looking and visiting my website!

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