Precious Wentletrap Sea Shell Epitonium Scalare Rare Collectible Delicate Shell

Description: Precious Wentletrap Sea Shell Epitonium Scalare Rare Collectible Delicate Shell You will receive one beautiful natural Precious Wentletrap Sea Shell aka the Epitonium Scalare display specimen! These gorgeous natural Precious Wentletrap sea shells are approximately 1" - 1.5" inches long. Natural Precious Wentletrap sea shells are very beautiful, have a unique structured shape and are highly sought after by collectors. You will receive a randomly selected Precious Wentletrap sea shell from our available inventory, see photos for an accurate example of the quality, size and colour. Asking price is very low for a beautiful, rare and delicate natural wonder from the ocean. This is an amazing find from our desert outpost by the sea! ENJOY FREE SHIPPING FOR USA CUSTOMERS! ASK ABOUT COMBINED SHIPPING DISCOUNTS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS! ABOUT THE PRECIOUS WENTLETRAP SEA SHELL: Epitonium Scalare, also known as the Precious Wentletrap, is a predatory or ectoparasitic species of marine gastropod with an operculum, in the family Epitoniidae, the wentletraps. In the 17th and 18th century this was once considered to be a very rare shell and specimens changed hands for large sums of money. Johan de la Faille and Cosimo III de' Medici owned a wentletrap. This species is distributed in the Red Sea, in the Indian Ocean along Madagascar and South Africa, in the South West Pacific Ocean and along Fiji Islands and Japan. Adult shells of this species attain a length of between 25 mm to 72 mm. Many Epitonium species have shells that are very attractive and quite interesting in their structure. However this species is particularly striking, partly because it is very large compared with the great majority of other species within the genus, but also because the whorls themselves do not touch and so the shell is held together only by the well-developed ribs or costae. The shell of Epitonium scalare has sculpture consisting of raised ribs that are known as costae. Costae are a very common feature in shells of many Epitonium species. Wentletraps are small, often white, very high-spired, predatory or ectoparasitic sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Epitoniidae. The word wentletrap originated in Dutch (wenteltrap), and it means spiral staircase. These snails are sometimes also called "staircase shells", and "ladder shells". The family Epitoniidae belongs to the superfamily Epitonioidea. Since 2017 this family also includes the former families Janthinidae (the pelagic purple snails) and Nystiellidae, all part of the informal group Ptenoglossa. Epitoniidae is a rather large family, with an estimated number of species about 630. Most species of wentletrap are white, and have a porcelain-like appearance. They are notable for their intricately geometric shell architecture, and the shells of the larger species are prized by collectors. The more or less turret-shaped shell consists of tightly-wound (sometimes loosely coiled), convex whorls, which create a high, conical spiral. Fine or microscopic spiral sculpture (also called "striae") is present in many species. The shells sometimes feature an umbilicus. Wentletrap shells have a roundish or oval aperture, but its inner lip is often reduced to strip of callus. The round and horny operculum is paucispiral and fits the aperture tightly. Most of the species in the family are small to minute, although some are larger, and overall the adult shell length in the family varies between 0.6 and 11.7 cm.[4] Within the genus Epitonium, the type genus of the family, the shell has predominantly axial sculpture of high, sharply ribbed "costae". These costae may offer some protection against other predatory snails, which would find it difficult or impossible to bore a hole in a shell with such obstructions.

Price: 22.49 USD

Location: Tarzana, California

End Time: 2024-08-21T00:47:31.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD