Sea Snail Sea shell - S-627 CASSIS CORNUTA (No reserve price)

Beautiful set of 2 large shells of Cassis cornuta - the horned helmet, a species of large, predatory, operculate snail in the family Cassidae, one of the largest snail species. Typical species of the genus Cassis. The spire is very low. On the last whorl, three distinct spiral rows of nodules (horns) are visible, the largest of them on the margin, in the upper part of the shell. Adults in the top row have 5–7 long or short, rounded or pointed tubercles (horns). The two rows below have 3–4 smaller tubercles. A characteristic feature is a pronounced, dense hammering (net-like sculpture) on the surface of the shell. The outer surface of the shell is cream, grayish or whitish, with brown streaks and spots. A large, oval parietal plate, yellowish- or brownish-orange in color, with two spotted, spiral thickenings in the central part on the surface. The height of the parietal plate in adults is greater than the height of the shell. The outer lip is thick, broad, with 5–7 pale teeth on the inner middle edge. On the outer surface of the lip there are usually 7 broad brown spots. During growth, the new outer lip grows after the whorl has rotated by 270 degrees relative to the previous lip. Protoconch with 2½ narrow whorls, whitish, smooth with a brownish seam on the first whorl. The orange spire, with 8–11 faintly defined, whitish lamellae in the lower half. The apical pit is covered. Sometimes, in the space of the pit, pieces of coral, rock, or shell fragments get trapped, which rattle when the shell is shaken. The horned shell is a male; the shell has a hole and a damaged siphon, as seen in the photos – dimensions 165/175/200 mm, weight 950 g. The shell without horns is female – dimensions 135/155/185 mm, weight 694 g. I highly recommend it to collectors and interior decorators.