malacology-asia.com

conchology.be a écrit:A new discovery in the Conus nobilis group. The “abbai” forms now a trio with “skinneri” and “victor” and takes it’s correct place as one of the most prestigious Conus from the Indo-Pacific. It seems as each Island in central Indonesia has it’s own hidden population: Bali has skinneri, Flores Island has victor and Solor island has abbai. This shell is known today from about 25 specimens. We think the price will stabilize at the high levels of the best victors, between 350 and 500 EUR somewhere. It is also possible that the fate of this population is similar to some other nobilis forms which are extremely rare once more again - think about the renatae.At present there is only one abbai for at least 200 existing victors. I met dealers desperate to obtain one, and presenting anything but “abbai” as “abbai” to collectors.

A fabulous new discovery in the Conus nobilis group. The “abbai” forms now a trio with “skinneri” and “victor” and takes it’s correct place as one of the most prestigious Conus from the Indo-Pacific.It seems as each Island of the Indonesian chain has it’s own hidden population: Bali has skinneri, Flores Island has victor and Solor island has abbai.This subspecies is known today from almost two dozen specimens: the holotype, 6 paratypes, a shell that has been figured by Monteiro (2010 Cone collector 14) from the Eric Monnier collection as “victor cf. skinneri”, and wrongly stated as coming from Flores Island. A second expedition by the discoverer resulted in 10 shells more. Named after John Abba who was the one to bring this celebrity out of it’s obscure locality. As can be seen the shells are magnificent, the purple siphonal canal in strong contrast with the golden-brown overall coloration. Described in Visaya. Solor Island is now easier to access, but still very rough. Dangerous to visit until a couple of years ago, from where the late discovery of this species. The people have a long standing warrior tradition. For newcomers in the shell world: the sister species “victor” is one of the most searched after Conus and quality specimens of large size are still rarities. But there are hundreds of poor quality pieces in collections. Until the late 1980’s this was a dream shell for each Conus expert. While “skinneri”, named after Renate Skinner who lived on Bali, stands for this nice dream Island, Conus “abbai” stands for wild adventure in the archipelago of the lesser Sunda Islands.