The “Stainforth’s Mitre” is a strikingly spotted costellariid with a rather wide distribution in the Western Pacific ranging from Okinawa, Japan to Queensland, Australia.

One of S. Peter Dance’s 50 “Rare Shells” (1969), its description was based on a shell then in the famed Mrs de Burgh collection; which later passed to the hands of Reverend Francis John Stainforth after whom it is named after. In the 19th Century it was considered to be the rarest of all mitre shells, and it remained rare until late 20th Century. Today it is known to be a moderately common carnivorous species inhabiting sandy to muddy bottoms around -10~80m deep, although it still remains as a popular collector’s item.

Typical shell length around 35mm, very large specimens may approach 60mm. It is somewhat variable in form, but varies little in general pattern and colouration and thus is an easily recognisable species. – Adapted from Chong Chen’s facebook post.

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